Sanju Samson boosted in T20 World Cup race, no competition for Hardik Pandya: Report | cricket news

Wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson, who has been in and out of the Indian team in white-ball cricket, is reportedly the No. 1 choice behind the stumps for the T20 World Cup 2024. Samson, whose performance in the Indian Premier League has been excellent. (IPL) The 2024 campaign so far with Rajasthan Royals has significantly boosted his selection chances despite stiff competition from Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. Pant is another wicketkeeper who has shown great form this campaign while leading the Delhi Capitals franchise. Rahul, on the other hand, is not very confident with the bat.

According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, Samson is being viewed by the selectors as the first choice behind the stumps, especially due to his form in the middle order. With Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav almost certain to be in the top four, Samson has emerged as the top contender for the number 5 role.

Rinku Singh and Shivam Dubey are the other middle-order candidates for the T20 World Cup squad. While Rinku has seen a slight decline in his game, Dubey’s rise in the current IPL campaign has made him one of the favorites for the finisher role.

Hardik Pandya has not made the expected impact as Mumbai Indians captain, but the lack of options for him has made his selection almost automatic. Due to the poor form of the Mumbai Indians captain, a player like Shivam Dubey or Ryan Parag could have been considered to replace Hardik, but the Impact Player rule of IPL made things complicated.

Neither Dubey nor Parag are required to bowl by their respective IPL franchises in this campaign. Therefore, he has not developed as an all-rounder enough to compete with Hardik.

In terms of spin-bowling all-rounders, Axar Patel has made things quite difficult for the selectors, but Ravindra Jadeja is still expected to overtake him at the spot.