T20 World Cup 2024: Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson? Gautam Gambhir picks India's wicketkeeper

KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir has backed Rishabh Pant to start ahead of Sanju Samson in India's playing XI for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, who are leading the Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 respectively, will be fighting it out for that one spot. With both of them playing absolutely different roles for their team, it will be an interesting as well as a tricky choice to make for the Indian team management.

Why does Gautam Gambhir feel that Rishabh Pant will make the cut?

While speaking to Sportskeeda recently, Gautam Gambhir stated 2 solid reasons why Rishabh Pant could be cutting ahead of Sanju Samson. Gambhir first explained the roles of both Pant and Sanju for the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals. While the former batted in the middle order, the latter scored all his runs from the top order.

With Rishabh Pant being a left-hander, his most exclusive quality, Gautam Gambhir feels that he can bring in variety to the playing XI from the number 5 position. After having a look at the team combination, the 2-time IPL winning captain stated that India needs their wicketkeeper in that very position.

"While Pant has batted in the middle order in IPL, Sanju has batted in the top order. Pant being a left-hander batter can bring variety to the team's middle order. Looking at Team India's combination, we need the wicketkeeper in that position and not in the top order." - Gambhir said via Sportskeeda.

Gautam Gambhir also had a few words of support for Sanju Samson in terms of his chances of breaking into the Indian playing XI. The KKR mentor said that if the team management feels Samson can adapt at no. 6 or 7, then they should give him a chance. But ultimately, Gambhir feels that Indian fans should support whichever wicket-keeper batsman that plays in the World Cup.

"But again, if they see that Sanju can score more runs at number six or seven, they could go with him as well. Whoever plays, I think we should back that player." - Gambhir concluded.

Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson's IPL 2024 season

If we talk about Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson's performances in IPL 2024, then it has been quite identical. Pant, on his comeback IPL season, has scored more runs than he did during his previous appearance in the richest T20 league back in 2022.

The left-hand batter has finished the season with 446 runs at a 155.40 strike rate with an average of 40.55. His 400+ runs include 3 half-centuries with a best of 88 not out.

Sanju Samson on the other hand, has experienced a better IPL 2024 season as captain but his batting performance has been similar to Pant's. The right-hand batter has two more games to play and he finds himself ahead of Pant by just 40 runs. But overall, Samson has scored 486 runs at a 158.31 strike rate including 5 half-centuries with a best of 86.