"I will go with DK" - Rohan Gavaskar on choosing between Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson as the keeper in Ireland
Rohan Gavaskar has cast his vote in favor of Dinesh Karthik as India's wicketkeeper in the T20I series against Ireland. However, he also wants Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson to be part of the playing XI.
Rishabh Pant donned the wicketkeeping gloves for Team India in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa. However, with the Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper now part of the Test team in England, the Men In Blue will have to field a different keeper against Ireland.
During an interaction on Sports 18, Rohan was asked to choose between Karthik, Kishan and Samson as the keeper for the Ireland T20Is. He responded:
"You can play all three of them but in terms of wicketkeeping, I will go with DK and I will have Sanju Samson and Ishan in the playing XI. But behind the stumps, I will go with DK."
The former Indian all-rounder was further asked about Suryakumar Yadav's return to the side after recovering from his injury and the expectation from him to be back amongst the runs. Rohan replied:
"For me, he is one of the first names in the Indian T20 squad for the World Cup because he is such a versatile, such a fabulous cricketer. You want him to be in form and this is the right opportunity for him to get some matches under his belt and hopefully get some runs under his belt."
Yadav missed the T20I series against the Proteas due to an injury he suffered while playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022. The Mumbai batter has smashed 351 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 165.56 in the 14 T20Is he has played to date for Team India.
"He was extremely impressive in the Indian T20 league" - Rohan Gavaskar on whether Umran Malik should be unleashed against Ireland
Rohan was also asked if it was time to unleash Umran Malik in Indian colors. He observed:
"He was extremely impressive in the Indian T20 league, bowling absolute rockets when he had the ball. And not only just bowling rockets, he was picking up wickets and that's key."
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by stating that all cricket fans are awaiting the express pacer's Team India debut. Rohan elaborated:
"You can bowl as fast as you want but if you don't pick up wickets, you are not economical, then it doesn't make any difference how fast you are bowling. He seems like the whole package. We are all extremely eager and waiting, and excited to see him play for India."
Umran was part of the Indian squad for the South Africa T20Is as well but did not get to play a game. It will be interesting to see if the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer is given an opportunity against Ireland, considering that Arshdeep Singh is also waiting in the wings.