T20 World Cup: Parthiv Patel Picks Rishabh Pant Over Sanju Samson To Feature In Indian Playing XI

New Delhi: Former India wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel picked Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson to start as a first-choice keeper in the Indian playing XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 that starts next month. Coming back after a injury layoff of 14 months following a horrific car accident, Pant showed tremendous grit and determination as he played exhilarating cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League while leading Delhi Capitals.

Putting the Pant vs Samson debate to a close, Patel opined the Delhi Capitals star brings a lot of balance in the side. “Both the players are in good touch right now and it is very difficult to choose,” Patel replied to an India.com query. “Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the playing XI brings a lot of balance as he is a left-handed batter which will help the team a lot and no one can match Rishabh’s attacking intent.

“We’ve seen in this IPL how he came back from his injury which forced him to stay away from the game for 14 months, he made a strong comeback this season,” added Patel, who played 70 international matches for India across formats.

With the Indian top four already locked with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, Pant can easily fit in the middle order, the same position that he was been batting for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. On the other hand, Samson batted at No.3 for Rajasthan Royals, and its impossible to tinker the top four to fit the RR skipper.

To add more to that, Pant’s ability to bat lower down the order and finish games also gives the left-hander edge over Samson. In terms of batting statistics, Samson stands sixth in the list of highest run-getters with 521 runs from 14 games so far, including five fifties. Pant manaed 446 runs in 13 games along with three half-centuries.

While Delhi Capitals failed to make it to the IPL 2024 playoffs, Rajasthan Royals ate still alive in the tournament. They will play Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 for a place in the final. Kolkata Knight Riders are already in the final.

India start their campaign against Ireland on June 5 before facing arch-rivals Pakistan four days later. The Men in Blue then play USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to complete their Group A proceedings.