Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was left confused with the choice of team India’s wicketkeeper for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that no one has the answers to the question of who will be the wicketkeeper of the tournament.
The goalkeeper’s spot for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the Indian team is up for grabs. There is no clarity on who will keep the place in the team. Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan so far seem to be in contention, but KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant cannot be ruled out.
In the recently concluded Afghanistan T20Is, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson got the chance. While the first played two games, the second had a chance in the last game and got a golden duck. Jitesh played a decent hand in one match but failed to set the stage on fire in the second.
So far no goalkeeper has had continuity in the team and the biggest unknown remains who will put on the gloves. Ishan Kishan looked like an obvious choice ahead of the series against Afghanistan. But he has also been marginalized and there is no clarity about it.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson got chances in the Afghanistan series but could not set the stage on fire. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:
“We don’t have an answer to the question of who will be our goalkeeper. Jitesh Sharma played the first two matches. After that, Sanju Samson played a match. Jitesh batted well in the first match, did not open his account in the second and Sanju did not open his account in the third.”
If you ask me who would go, I would say I don’t know who would go – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra further said that if someone asks him to choose, he will not be able to understand because no one has set the stage on fire. Elaborating on the same, the cricketer-turned-commentator stated:
“If you ask me who would go, I would say I don’t know who would go. Jitesh has not confirmed his place, Sanju wasted the only opportunity he had, Ishan Kishan has not been able to be a part of the race so far and they did not pick KL Rahul.”
KL Rahul has not been in the scheme of things since the T20 World Cup 2022. His return to the team looks bleak. The upcoming IPL is likely to bring clarity in this regard and all the goalkeepers would be eager to put up a solid performance. The tournament will be played before the T20 World Cup and the current form would be crucial for all the players.
It remains to be seen who will be the two players who will make it into the squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The focus will be on Jitesh Sharma in particular as he looks the favorite to seal the spot. He has regularly played in the team ahead of other players.