Former India batter Suresh Raina believes that the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter for Rohit Sharma would be Rishabh Pant. The 26-year-old southpaw is not a part of India's ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan but he is gearing up for a comeback to competitive cricket. Pant, who has started training after recovering from a car accident he met with in December 2022, is expected to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. With the Afghanistan series being India's last T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup, the performance of players in IPL is definitely going to have a say in the selection of the squad for the world event.
"I feel Sanju Samson can be a weapon as he can bat anywhere. Jitesh is also there but I feel Rohit Sharma's first choice will be Rishabh Pant, depending on what he does in the two months (of the IPL), because he keeps well, and will be making a comeback," said Raina on Colors Cineplex as quoted by Sportskeeda.
"Ishan Kishan is another option. Jitesh Sharma is keeping exceptionally well and has done well in batting whenever he has got a chance. However, Sanju Samson brings impact. He plays big knocks. He thinks like a captain and captains the Rajasthan Royals as well. I have great confidence in him," Raina added.
The Rohit-led Indian cricket team went ahead with Jitesh Sharma in the first T20I against Afghanistan, benching Sanju Samson.
Ishan Kishan is not a part of the series as he has asked for rest while the team management has given no explanation on why KL Rahul -- another wicketkeeper-batter in contention -- has not been picked for the series.
Have a look at India's playing XI vs Afghanistan in 1st T20I: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar