Former India cricketer and chief selector Saba Karim feels that Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan lack the X factor which Rishabh Pant has. The selectors have picked Pant in the T20 World Cup squad while Kishan and Samson are part of the ODI squad for the ongoing three-match series against South Africa.
After the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Team India has not been able to find an apt replacement for him as several gloves men got the opportunities to showcase their talent in the past couple of years. Pant has cemented his place in the Test team but his inconsistency always raised questions about his place in the white-ball set-up.
Apart from Pant, Dinesh Karthik is also travelling to Australia and he is expected to be the first-choice wicketkeeper in the T20 WC. Kishan and Samson also gave some auditions for the spot in the T20 WC squad but they fell down in the pecking order.
Karim said that he will pick Pant ahead of the other two gloves men as he offered an X-factor which Samson and Kishan don’t.
“I would put Rishabh Pant ahead of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. I don’t see the X factor in these two that Rishabh Pant has. Samson is a wonderful stroke player and can retain his side in the team as a batter. Ishan Kishan hasn’t made the most of his chances, which is why he has fallen down the pecking order. With that said, Pant would be my first choice in both white-ball and red-ball cricket," Karim told India News.
Karim further stated that selectors are considering Samson and Kishan as pure batters only and suggested that Samson can find a place in the squad as a batter and not as a wicketkeeper.
“Selectors aren’t looking at all these players as keeper-batters. They consider them pure batters and it is an added bonus if you are also able to keep wickets. Sanju Samson’s return to the main team will happen as a batter, not as a wicketkeeper," he added.
The former wicket keeper also heaped praises on Samson and said that he has performed consistently well in the Indian team after IPL this year.
“Sanju Samson has performed well whenever he has had an opportunity recently. The consistency has been quite good and we have seen a big improvement after this year’s IPL," Karim said.
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