Former India player Sunil Gavaskar said that Rishabh will he a part of Team India’s playing XI in their opening game of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 against Ireland. Both Pant and Sanju Samson have been selected as wicket-keepers. However, the southpaw scored a fifty against Bangladesh in the warm-up match.

He accumulated 53 off 32 balls, with the help of four fours and as many sixes. On the other hand, Samson managed just 1 run. Gavaskar said that India are going to start the tournament with Pant as their wicket-keeper instead of Samson. Sunil aslo highlighted Sanju’s poor form in the last few games.a

“Rishabh Pant is a better wicker-keeper than Sanju Samson. Pant has scored runs in the last few games. He accumulated a fifty-plus score against Bangladesh. Samson is also a good batter and started the Indian Premier League with a bang,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Gavaskar further said that good outing against Bangladesh would have sealed Samson’s place in the playing group.

“He failed in the last two or three games in the Indian Premier League. If he would have scored 50-60 runs against Bangladesh, there was a chance of him playing. I feel the team management will prefer Pant over Samson,” he added.

In the 17th season of the cash-rich league, Pant accumulated 446 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.54 and a strike rate of 155.40.

On the other hand, Samson amassed 531 from 15 innings at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.46. In the last four games, the Rajasthan Royals captain recorded scores of scores of 15, 18, 17 and 10.