Table of Contents
As the T20 World Cup 2024 looms large on the cricketing horizon, the spotlight intensifies on team compositions and players poised to make a lasting impact on the world stage. One critical position under scrutiny is the wicketkeeper-batter role for Team India, and former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has weighed in on the debate between Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma.
Irfan Pathan reveals his choice between Jitesh Sharma and Ishan Kishan
In a recent revelation, Pathan expressed his preference for Jitesh over Ishan for the wicketkeeper-batter role in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Acknowledging the talent of both players, Pathan outlined his rationale, emphasizing the congestion at the top order, where Ishan excels as an opener. According to Pathan, playing Ishan in the middle order might pose challenges, and Jitesh’s innovative style and growth in T20 cricket make him a promising choice.
Pathan further assessed Ishan’s strengths, noting his proficiency against the new ball and spin but posited that finding a spot at the top might prove challenging given the established openers in the squad.
“I will play Jitesh hands down. I have maintained from earlier that if you have to play Ishan, whether it is ODIs or T20Is, you have to play him at the top, and there is a traffic jam at the top. It’s very difficult for Ishan Kishan to make his place. This is my belief. I don’t know at all what the team management thinks but his ability that I have judged for many years, I feel he needs the hard new ball and then he plays spin well,” said Pathan on Star Sports.
Also READ: SA vs IND – Sunil Gavaskar slams Cricket South Africa after rain forces abandonment of 1st T20I
Draws comparisons with Suryakumar Yadav
Pathan commended Jitesh’s creative and innovative playing style, drawing parallels with Suryakumar Yadav. Pathan emphasized Jitesh’s ability to play a variety of shots, positioning him as an effective middle-order batter who can navigate both spin and fast bowling adeptly.
“When you bat in the middle order, you will get spin in front of you, and there you (Kishan) might have difficulties at times. Jitesh Sharma is a slightly creative player. He is a Suryakumar Yadav-mold type player. You will see him playing the lap and different types of shots. His growth in T20 cricket in the last one to one-and-a-half years has been fantastic. He has been doing the finisher’s role extremely well for the Punjab Kings in the IPL and he recently played two very good innings (for India). His strike rate is always impressive and he plays both spin and fast bowling well,” Pathan added further.
