Ex-Indian keeper explains the reason why Jitesh Sharma should be the first-choice wicketkeeper in the playing XI

Former Indian keeper-batter Deep Dasgupta has revealed the reason why it would be a good decision to have Jitesh Sharma as the first-choice keeper-batter instead of Sanju Samson in the playing XI ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

Speaking exclusively to the news agency PTI, Deep Dasgupta has disclosed that if Samson isn’t in the top three of the batting order, it would be a decent idea to have a proper lower-order finisher, who can come out and score runs from his first ball as a finisher.

"It is the right call. If Sanju is not in the top three and if the keeper is batting in the middle order, you would rather play a specialist, a lower-order batter than a top-order batter. It is not easy batting for two balls or four balls. Jitesh is a specialist in that regard," Deep Dasgupta told PTI.

For the unversed, India will play nine more matches before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka in February, with four against South Africa and five against New Zealand. 

On that note, Deep Dasgupta reckoned that he doesn’t see any major changes to the current T20I squad or the playing XI before the World Cup commences next year. In the ongoing calendar year, Samson has amassed only 185 runs from 14 games at an average of 18.5. 

"Nine games to go (before World Cup), I don't see too many changes ahead of the T20 World Cup," he added.

It’s worth noting that while Samson was part of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad, he couldn’t make it to the playing XI in any game. He scored three centuries, including 436 runs at an average of 43.6 in 2024. 

In the first T20I against South Africa, Jitesh Sharma was opted as the first-choice keeper-batter, with Samson being benched from the XI. With Shubman Gill elevated as the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I team, Samson had to be benched from the XI on a constant basis after the Asia Cup 2025 campaign.

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