"Rishabh Pant is a better wicketkeeper than Samson" - Sunil Gavaskar on India's starting wicketkeeper for the 2024 T20 World Cup

Sunil Gavaskar has picked Rishabh Pant ahead of Sanju Samson as India's starting wicketkeeper in the playing XI for the 2024 T20 World Cup based on the southpaw's better glove work. While Samson failed to impress in India's lone warm-up game against Bangladesh with a six-ball 1, Pant scored a breathtaking 53 off 32 before retiring out.

The duo enjoyed terrific IPL 2024 seasons with the bat, making choosing between them to start in the playing XI a tricky decision. Samson was the fifth-leading run-scorer in the tournament with 531 runs at an average of over 48 and a strike rate of 153.46 in 16 games.

Meanwhile, Pant showed no signs of rust in his return from a 15-month layoff, scoring 446 runs at an average of 40.54 and a strike rate of 155.40 in 13 outings.

Speaking to Star Sports after the warm-up game against Bangladesh, Gavaskar weighed in on the wicketkeeper battle between Pant and Samson.

"I think simply because if you compare the wicketkeeping abilities then Rishabh Pant is a better wicketkeeper than Samson. We’re not talking about batting here, the batting aspect also comes into play. But, Rishabh Pant in the last few matches has batted really well. On the other hand, Sanju Samson started the IPL season superbly, scored runs at will, hitting the ball to all corners of the ground," said Gavaskar.

Both Samson and Pant have surprisingly disappointing numbers in their T20I careers. While the former averages under 19 with a lone half-century in 25 games, Pant has been only slightly better with an average of 22.43 in 66 outings.

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“In the last two-three matches, he didn’t quite get runs" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar felt Sanju Samson not scoring big runs in the final few matches of IPL 2024 and the warm-up contest against Bangladesh could hand Rishabh Pant the nod as India's starting wicket-keeper in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

After lighting up the IPL for most of the season, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper went through a lull with scores of 15, 18, 17 and 10 in his final four innings.

"In the last two-three matches (IPL 2024), he didn’t quite get runs. So this was an opportunity for him actually the match against Bangladesh. If he had scored about 50-60 then there would have been no question but I do feel that the Indian selection committee will look at having Rishabh Pant as the keeper," said Gavaskar.

Pant also kept wickets for India in the Bangladesh clash despite the presence of Samson, which may be a sign of things to come.

The answers to the wicketkeeping conundrum will be revealed when India take on Ireland in their tournament opener in New York on Wednesday, June 5.