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Cricket Players'I would find every possible way to have both those guys in my team': Ponting picks India's keeper for T20 World Cup
The closer we get to the T20 World Cup, the stiffer the competition is getting between Indian players, especially for the wicketkeeper's position.
The closer we get to the T20 World Cup, the stiffer the competition is getting. There are only 11 places up for grabs in India's Playing XI and for every spot, there are at least 4 players gunning for a chance, such is the depth in India's squad. While some names pick for themselves such as Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal and even the struggling Virat Kohli, there is a three-way fight for the rest – like Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel competing for the second-pacer slot and a four-way competition between Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan for the wicketkeeper's position.
If Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can keep up their current form, they too will be certainties in the XI, as will Suryakumar Yadav. However, amid all these, the one area which has plenty of suspense surrounding it is the keeper's position. With all four players extremely talented and proving themselves with both bat and behind the stumps, it remains to be seen who gets the nod. Weighing in on the same, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has made names two picks out of the four, whom he would give preference to on the basis of current form.
"We have seen what Rishabh is capable of in 50-over cricket and I know absolutely what he is capable of in the T20 game. Dinesh Karthik has had his best IPL ever just very recently ... and I would be trying to find every possible way to have both of those guys in my team. Rishabh to bat, in that three-four-five range, and have Dinesh and maybe Hardik Pandya... if you have those guys finishing for you, well that batting line-up looks very, very dangerous," Ponting said on The ICC Review Show.
Pant has finally silenced his limited-overs critics following a sensational and match-winning century against England in the third ODI, and while T20 internationals are be a different kettle of fish altogether, his knock of 125 not out off 113 balls would give him the confidence needed to succeed in T20Is. Karthik, on the other hand, has converted his brilliant IPL form into impactful performances for India. This obviously means that the middle order will be stacked, which will make it tough for some of the players to grab an opportunity.
"Obviously that means someone like (Ishan) Kishan or Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) or (Shreyas) Iyer, someone like that, might miss out and I don't think Surya will miss out given his current form. But when you got so much talent picking an Indian team is always going to be difficult and Pant and Karthik would be the two, I would pick ahead of Kishan right now," mentioned Ponting.
