Statement of Yuvraj Singh on the T20 World Cup race of Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant vs Sanju Samson
One of the biggest selection headaches for the T20 World Cup squad of India is choosing the players for the two wicket-keeping positions. As many as six players—Pant, Samson, Rahul, Kishan, Jitesh, and Jurel—have entered the race at the start of the ongoing season of the IPL to take those two spots in the team. But after half of the tournament was finished, this battle found a seventh competitor in the form of Dinesh Karthik, who has been in amazing form down the order for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
However, former cricketer of team India Yuvraj Singh has been most impressed with the performance of Karthik in IPL 2024. In just four innings, he has scored 172 runs at a strike rate of 209.75 for RCB. And while he backed his place in the World Cup squad, he set a condition for the selectors, saying that the 38-year-old should only be picked if he is guaranteed a spot in the playing XI.
Yuvraj was quoted by the ICC as saying, "Dinesh has been batting really well, but the thing with DK is that the last time in 2022 when they picked him and the T20 World Cup was on, he didn’t get to play.”
The two-time winner of the World Cup further added that if the selectors don't think of Karthik as a surety in the playing XI of Team India, then Pant and Samson should be picked in the squad.
He added, “If DK is not in your XI, I don’t think there is any point in picking him. There is Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, and both of them are in great form, and obviously they are younger. I would like to see DK in the mix, but if he is not going to play, then you would rather choose someone who is younger and can make the difference.”