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BENGALURU: Since MS Dhoni’s retirement in 2019, the Indian wicketkeeper’s slot has been a game of musical chairs. Since Jan last year, India have primarily tried three men behind the stumps – Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in T20Is. With the T20 World Cup scheduled in June, the race for the wicketkeeper’s slot is gathering momentum.
In the last 12 months, Ishan Kishan has figured in the most T20Is — 11 matches — while both Samson (9) and Jitesh (9) have been given opportunities to showcase their skills with the bat and behind the stumps.
However, since Nov, the team management has shown more faith in Jitesh, who has also been India’s first choice in the last two series against South Africa and Afghanistan. With the bat, Jitesh’s best has been a 19-ball 35 against Australia in the 4th T20I last month.
IN THE FRAY: Jitesh Sharma’s (left) stocks have risen as a wicketkeeper who is also capable of belting a few in the lower middle order
Ishan has been mostly tried at the top of the order and the southpaw delivered with two half-centuries against Australia in November. But with the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20I fold, slotting Ishan in the top order looks tough. In comparison, Sanju and Jitesh have featured in the middle-order, with the latter being used more as a finisher.
India head coach Rahul Dravid is happy with the options in hand and even included KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant‘s contenders. The latter is recovering at the NCA here after suffering a horrific accident in late 2022.
“We have a few wicketkeeping options. All of them are in the mix. We have seen Sanju and Jitesh (in the India-Afghanistan series). We also have Rahul, Kishan and Rishabh. We just need to see how it pans out in the next few months and take a call on what is the best way forward,” said Dravid at the post-match conference after India’s series win against Afghanistan.
Dravid’s emphasis on “next few months” makes it evident that the performance of these players in the IPL will be closely monitored by the team management before making their final call on the wicketkeeper.
If Pant plays in the IPL, the focus will also be on his fitness as he has not played competitive cricket since Dec 2022.
BEYOND WICKETKEEPERS
With India not playing any T20Is before heading to the US and Caribbean, the IPL will play a key role in determining the team composition for the World Cup. Also, it is not only about wicketkeepers. The likes of Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma too will be closely watched.
“It’s nice to see that there are some options (ahead of the T20 World Cup) who have put their hand up, and certainly shown that they’ve got skills to address.”
“(There are) some areas that we might need some addressing in, and we were thinking about it. But unfortunately, we really won’t have much cricket as a team anymore. We will obviously have the IPL and everyone will be watching closely to see how some of those guys play and what are the slots we need to fill in the team,” Dravid said.
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