India Tour of Sri Lanka: As a white-ball specialist Team India tour Sri Lanka under Shikhar Dhawan’s captaincy to test India’s bench strength ahead of the packed calendar in the next few months, the wicketkeeping role has become the primary point of contention. The tour will have two keepers in Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan but who will coach Rahul Dravid trust to don the gloves?
While the first team’s wicketkeeping duties have been taken over by Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul (limited-overs), both Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan will be assessed purely based on their batting merits. However, on the Sri Lanka tour, their keeping skills will be closely watched by Rahul Dravid as India wants to have a pool of players ready for future series.
India Tour of Sri Lanka: Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan – who will keep for India?
Among the two keepers in the squad, only Sanju Samson has kept for India — against Sri Lanka in 2020. Kishan, who made his debut against England in March, did not don the big gloves. However, both could be rotated as keepers as Rahul Dravid would be keen to assess their skills.
Sanju Samson: The Kerala and Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsman was picked as a successor to MS Dhoni. While he has failed to be consistent, he has been lauded for his keeping skills in the IPL and in domestic cricket for Kerala.
However, it is his batting that has come under scrutiny time and again. On his days, he has impressed with swashbuckling centuries but has failed to sustain the momentum. In IPL 2021, he started with an impressive 63-ball 119 run knock for Rajasthan Royals on his captaincy debut. But he followed it up with 1, 4 and 21 in the next three innings before scoring three consecutive 40+ scores. Sri Lanka tour will be crucial for his Team India future as the team management will gauge him over his consistency. For India, in seven T20I matches, he has only scored 83 runs at an abysmal average of 11.85.
India Tour of Sri Lanka: Ishan Kishan: However, Ishan Kishan has emerged as a real option. Another Jharkhand boy like MS Dhoni, the youngster has risen through the ranks of Mumbai and then to India. The Jharkhand captain has been praised for his skills behind the stumps in domestic cricket and will be in prime position to get a good look-at in the Sri Lanka series.