Five Wicket-Keeper Batsmen Who Could Play For India Under New Selection Panel

Before MS Dhoni made his debut for the Indian cricket team, there was a big dilemma regarding the wicketkeeping position. Now, that the former Indian skipper is approaching the fag end of his career, the same problem has confronted Team India yet again.

Players such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul have been taking up the wicketkeeping duties since Dhoni has been dropped from the national team.

Now, that the new selection panel has taken over, expect plenty of changes to happen.

One of the pressing issues in front of Sunil Joshi will be to find a successor for Dhoni.

Having said that, today we will take a look at five players who could be brought in to the national team to replace the experienced wicketkeeper.

Five Wicket-keeper batsmen who could play for India under the new selection panel:

5) Srikar Bharat

Coming in at number five on this list, Srikar Bharat is a young player from Andhra Pradesh, who was included in India’s squad as a replacement for Rishabh Pant against Australia for India’s recent Australia series.

In domestic cricket, Bharat has been a proven performer, having played 78 First-class matches for Andhra whilst scoring 4,283 runs in the process, including nine centuries.

Moreover, in 51 List-A matches, the 26-year-old has recorded five fifties and three centuries.

For the better part of last year, Bharat has been playing consistently for India ‘A’ and he could line up as one of the wicketkeeper-batsmen to feature for India under the new selection panel.

4) Narayan Jagadeesan

Hailing from Tamil Nadu, young right-handed batsman Narayan Jagadeesan too features on this list. He has a good track record in the domestic circuit, and subsequently, the 24-year-old was picked up by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Jagadeesan has played 23 First-class matches for Tamil Nadu so far, having added 1174 runs to his name, including four fifties and four centuries.

At the same time, he has played 23 List-A matches, wherein Jagadeesan has five fifties and one century to his name.

He has been progressing very quickly as a wicketkeeper, and maybe from playing with MS Dhoni in the IPL, Jagadeesan can go on to replace the veteran in team India.

3) Ishan Kishan

Hailing from MS Dhoni’s state Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan has the potential to carry forward the legacy of the former. Kishan has captained the India U19 team at the ICC U19 World Cup, and he is a regular feature in the IPL as well, nowadays.

In his career so far, the 21-year-old has played 44 First-class matches for his state, amassing 2665 runs including a massive 15 half-centuries and five tons.

Kishan has also played 72 List-A matches for Jharkhand, scoring 2334 runs in the process, courtesy of 12 fifties and three centuries in the format.

The left-handed batsman has been a regular feature for India ‘A’ and perhaps the next step will be to represent India, under the new selection panel.

As a wicketkeeper-batsman, Kishan has enormous potential.

2) Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson has been knocking on the door for Team India, for some time now, but in the few matches he’s played, the 25-year-old has failed to leave a lasting impression. Hailing from Kerala, he has been a key cog for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as well but hasn’t set the stage alight in international cricket.

For his state team though, Samson has played 55 First-class matches, hitting 3162 runs, courtesy of 12 fifties and 10 centuries.

Moreover, in 90 List-A matches, the right-handed batsman has amassed 2324 runs.

While his fortunes haven’t been good in the past, under the new selection panel, fans could see Samson being handed opportunities more regularly.

1) Dinesh Karthik

Experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik could be a readymade short term solution for India, looking forward to the ICC T20I World Cup in Australia later this year.

Karthik has proven his mettle in the T20I format in the past, and surely Karthik deserves a chance in the Indian team now that MS Dhoni has been sidelined.

Over the years, the 34-year-old has played just 26 Test matches scoring 1025 runs in the process. Karthik has played 94 ODIs in national colours and he has 1752 runs to show for it.

Moreover, he has been leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, so his experience in the T2oI format could be handy.

Karthik is an able finisher, who would be one of the front runners if the new selection panel decided to try out some new faces as wicketkeeper batsmen in the Indian team.