Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik? Suresh Raina picks his first-choice for T20 World Cup

Former India batter Suresh Raina feels Rishabh Pant should be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper for the T20 World Cup, where India open their campaign against Pakistan in a high-voltage clash in Melbourne on 23 October.

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India have picked two specialist wicket-keepers for the World Cup in Pant and Dinesh Karthik and off late the latter has been preferred for the glovework given DK’s recent form and finishing abilities. Pant, however, is the lone southpaw in the team who can bat top of the order and Raina believes that makes the Delhi cricketer crucial.

“Dinesh Karthik has been in good form and he has given good performances. But if Rishabh Pant is there in the side, it provides you with that X-factor because he is a left-handed batter,” Raina told NDTV.

The 35-year-old cricketer, a southpaw himself, cited examples of Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Sigh, who as left-handers were crucial to India’s World Cup successes in 2007 (T20) and 2011.

“We saw how Gautam Gambhir performed in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Yuvraj Singh had six 6s. Then in the 2011 World Cup, both of them played a big role. So I think, being a left-handed batter gives you that advantage,” Raina said.

“Rishabh knows how to hit 6s from the first ball. If he gets a chance, he will definitely do well,” Raina added.

India will face Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh and the two qualifiers in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.

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