With the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik in India's T20I squad for the South Africa series, the Indian team management now has a variety of wicketkeeper-batter alternatives. The other two wicketkeeper-batters in the squad are Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan.
Another option who has been in and out of the squad is Sanju Samson. The four together create a circumstance in which the selectors might find it difficult to choose if and when the need arises.
Kapil Dev, India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain, has given his opinion on which of the four players is best suited for the wicketkeeper-batter post.
In a discussion on Uncut, Kapil said, "If you talk about wicketkeepers, all of them are almost same. But if you take about the better batter, on a given day all four can win you matches. If you talk about Wriddhiman Saha, he is better wicket-keeper than these four. But these four, as a batsman, are better."
Talking about 27-year-old Samson, the legendary former all-rounder said, "I am disappointed with Sanju Samson. He is so talented. He does well in one or two matches and then he does not do anything. If we talk about consistency currently, Dinesh Karthik is ahead of all. Ishan Kishan has, I think, come under pressure. Maybe it's the pressure of the high price that he garnered at the IPL auction. I have never got so much money so I will not be able to say.
"I don't think Dinesh Karthik has surpassed Rishabh Pant in T20s. But this time he has done so well that he forced selectors to not ignore him. Pant is a youngster who has lot of cricket left, then there is Karthik who has loads of experience. The more said about Karthik the less. He started before Dhoni and is still continuing."
