Gautam Gambhir Picks Rishabh Pant Over Sanju Samson In T20 World Cup 2024 Playing XI

New Delhi: India legendary batter Gautam Gambhir opens up on which Indian wicketkeeper batter will feature in the T20 World Cup 2024 which will be played in the USA and West Indies from June 02. BCCI have added Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant in the squad for the marquee event.  Gambhir picked Pant over Samson for India’s playing XI in the tournament.

Both Pant and Samson are in decent form in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Pant is leading Delhi Capitals and scored 446 runs in 13 outings of the IPL with a high score of 88*. Pant has an average of 40.55 in the ongoing season. On the other hand, Samson 486 runs in the 12 outings for his franchise Rajasthan Royals with a high score of 86. He has an average of 60.75.

Gambhir explained why he picked Rishabh Pant over Samson, he reckons that the DC skipper is the natural middle-order batter and Samson has played on number three and as per India’s combination the team needs a wicketkeeper in that position. Apart from that Pant is a left-hander who will give a left-right combination in the batting.

“Both have equal quality. Sanju has amazing quality, and even Rishabh has amazing quality. If I had to pick, I’d probably pick Rishabh Pant because he is a natural middle-order batter. Sanju, if you see in IPL, he has batted at number three. Rishabh has batted at number five, six and seven I think,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda.

“Looking at Team India’s combination, we need the wicketkeeper in that position and not in the top order. So I’d start with Rishabh Pant. Plus, he is a left-hander in the middle-order, which gives you a left hand-right hand combination,” he added.