Ranking India's best wicket-keeping options ahead of the 2019 World Cup
Although MS Dhoni's skills tell us a different story, believe me, wicket-keeping is by far one of the toughest jobs, especially in ODI format. Wicket-keeping demands an enormous amount of diligence, sharpness, and flexibility. Much so, comprising on this front can cost you a lot. Hence, irrespective of the formats, the wicket-keeper is a vital cog in any team.
India has been quite lucky in this regard as they have quite a few quality options in their ranks who can do the duty for India in the upcoming World Cup. The 2019 World Cup is slated to start from 30 May 2019 in England and Wales.
With the quadrennial event just four months away, the Indian team's preparations are going on in full swing to make sure that they have their hands on the silverware in June this year. Besides marking out the mainstays for the coveted world championship, the selectors would also have looked for a few backup options.
Hence, with good glove-men at our disposal ahead of the World Cup, let us rank all the wicket-keeping options while analyzing their recent performances both with the gloves and with the bat.
#3 Rishabh Pant
Batting
Having made his ODI debut in October 2018 against West Indies, Rishabh Pant hasn't made his mark in the 50-over format. The Delhi boy happened to play only three matches in his debut series and managed to score just 41 runs at an average of 20.50 and a strike-rate of 132.25. However, the numbers don't speak the entire story as Pant possesses an exceptional batting hand. Nonetheless, the left-handed batsman will unquestionably need to step up his batting to be a prospective addition for India.
Wicket-keeping
Rishabh Pant hasn't had a long-drawn experience with the gloves in the shorter formats of the game. Instead, he has had most of his wicket-keeping exposure in Tests. And in the Test format, the southpaw has been a bit wayward behind the stumps, especially in the swinging conditions where he has had the reputation of committing a bit too early. Even though he has improved considerably since his debut, he needs to evolve a bit more to be counted as an adequate wicket-keeping option for India.
Final Verdict
Thus, being a quality batsman and an able wicket-keeper, Pant unquestionably stands as the third-ranked choice for India ahead of the 2019 World Cup.