T20 World Cup 2024: Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant? Parthiv Patel gives his verdict on India's Playing XI

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Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has given his verdict on the Indian playing XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

The Indian team have named their final squad for the ICC tournament, which will be held from June 1 in the West Indies and USA. The selectors have named a strong team for the tournament, which has seen the return of Rishabh Pant.

Pant, who hasn't played for India since December 2022, has been picked. Another player who has been picked as a wicketkeeper-batter is Sanju Samson. After his excellent form in the IPL 2024, the Kerala-born player will be hoping to transform that for India in the upcoming tournament.

Although Samson is in decent form, there are questions about whether he must be in the starting lineup. Former players and experts are divided in the selection, as some have voiced their opinion in favour of Samson, while others believe in Pant's ability.

Recently, Parthiv Patel has revealed his choice as India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter for the T20 World Cup.

"There is no doubt about Sanju Samson on the way he has led and scored runs this season. But Rishabh Pant comes with a different kind of variety. In the Indian batting lineup, we need the one left-hander in between. Looking at this point in time, Rishabh Pant looks like the favourite but they both are very capable players," Patel said recently at an event in Delhi.

Samson has been a prolific run-getter this season. The Rajasthan Royals captain has already amassed 521 runs at an average of 52.1 and a strike rate of 155. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant, who led Delhi Capitals, has ended the season with 446 runs at an average of 40 and a similar strike rate of 155.

India Squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.