Each season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) presents a familiar tapestry of questions – Which team will be the most impressive? Who will fuel the national memers’ association's creativity? Which uncapped player will steal the limelight, in a manner that those who aren’t aware of who won the last Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will become the staunchest proponents of India’s domestic circuit?
This edition is a slight deviation from the usual, in the sense that in addition to the customary, IPL 2024 presented an unhackneyed set of questions, which pertained to the 2024 T20 World Cup – India’s first real opportunity of healing the wounds from 19 November 2023.
A few of the major questions included – Who will be Rohit Sharma’s opening partner? Who will replace Mohammed Shami? Between Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, who will be India’s seam-bowling all-rounder?
Yet, amidst the fervour, one question eclipsed the rest – Who will keep wickets for India? As many as six candidates are auditioning for the role. But in what comes as an anti-climactic development, the suspense has been all but subdued in less than a month since the competition’s commencement.
Who spoiled the thrill? Rishabh Pant.
The Knock That Knocked out Competition
The knock that catapulted Pant into a lead in the keepers’ race saw him scoring a 43-ball 88, in Delhi Capitals’ four-run triumph over Gujarat Titans on 24 April.
Before we revisit his innings, however, it is essential to contextualise with a few notable incidents.
Firstly, Pant came into the match against Gujarat on the back of a sedate 35-ball 44 against Sunrisers Hyderabad – that too, whilst chasing a target of 267 runs. Some felt that instead of the T20 World Cup, Pant was auditioning for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
To add to that, his team was in a precarious position when he came out to bat on Thursday – 44/3 in the sixth over. Pant had no option but to be cautious for a moment or two, scoring only seven runs off his first eight deliveries.
On the ninth delivery, against Rashid Khan – among T20 cricket’s most effective bowlers – he struck his first boundary. A powerful pull on the leg side. In the next over, against Noor Ahmad, he struck his first six. Over the next hour or so, he would hit seven more of those – four of them coming in the last over.
For all the scepticism about how influential he would be after recuperating from a horrific car accident, which kept him out of the sport for fifteen months, Pant has taken all but nine matches to score three half-centuries – his joint-highest in a season since 2018, and for the first time in nearly six years, breach the 80-run mark.
Why Is Rishabh Pant Leading the Race?
Besides Pant, there are five candidates for the wicketkeeper’s slot – Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma. The only two Indian wicketkeepers who are playing in IPL 2024 and are not in contention are – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, having retired from international cricket, and Wriddhiman Saha, having never played T20I cricket for India.
Among the sextet, Pant has scored the most runs – 342, at an average of 48.85. There might have been questions about his strike rate after the first two matches, where he scored a combined 48 runs in 39 deliveries, but since then, Pant has done well to elevate his strike rate to 161.32.
How the six candidates have fared at IPL 2024:
| Player | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rishabh Pant | 342 | 48.85 | 161.32 |
| Sanju Samson | 314 | 62.8 | 152.42 |
| KL Rahul | 302 | 37.75 | 141.12 |
| Dinesh Karthik | 251 | 62.75 | 196.09 |
| Ishan Kishan | 192 | 24 | 168.42 |
| Jitesh Sharma | 128 | 16 | 125.49 |
Six Candidates on Paper, but Only Four Have Arrived at the Start Line
Now, let’s filter the candidates. For his inconsistent returns, highlighted by an underwhelming average of 24, Ishan Kishan is unlikely to be in the mix. Jitesh Sharma, who played nine T20Is in Pant’s absence, has blown his opportunity by scoring merely 128 runs in IPL 2024 so far.
This leaves the selectors with the quartet of Pant, Samson, Rahul and Karthik.
Samson and Rahul have scored north of 300 runs, albeit one critical factor works against their candidacies – batting position. Samson has only batted in number three at IPL 2024, whilst Rahul has only batted as an opener.
But come the T20 World Cup, India will need a keeper who bats in the middle-order, as the quartet of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav are expected to occupy the first four positions.
The likeliest position for the Indian keeper is number five – where Pant has batted on four occasions this season, and has registered a couple of half-centuries. In fact, Pant is the only Indian to have scored over 150 runs at number five in this competition.
Leading Indian run-scorers at number 5 in IPL 2024:
| Player | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rishabh Pant | 160 | 80 | 195.12 |
| Shivam Dube | 121 | 40.33 | 151.25 |
| Tilak Varma | 79 | 26.33 | 125.4 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 68 | 34 | 144.68 |
| Vijay Shankar | 55 | 18.33 | 114.58 |
At number five or lower, Pant has played 18 T20Is for India and has scored 325 runs at an average of 25 – far from impressive, but Samson has only scored 81 runs at an average of 20.2, whilst Rahul has never batted in those positions for India in T20Is.
Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson & KL Rahul's T20I numbers at number 5 or lower:
| Player | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rishabh Pant | 325 | 25 | 124.5 |
| Sanju Samson | 81 | 20.2 | 106.6 |
| KL Rahul | NA | NA | NA |
And Then, There Were Two
The player we have not discussed yet is Dinesh Karthik. Indeed, with 251 runs at a staggering strike rate of 196.09, Karthik has, at 38 years and 10 months, thrown his hat into the ring.
Karthik's resurgence in IPL 2024 mirrors his performance ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Karthik had a similarly rewarding campaign at IPL 2022, scoring 330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33, which earned him a place in the Indian squad. Albeit, what transpired did not justify the selection, as Karthik scored a paltry 14 runs in three innings, averaging 4.66.
Ahead of the IPL, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had stated Pant playing at the T20 World Cup will be a ‘big thing’ for India, as he is regarded as a ‘big asset.’ It seems that the big stars have all but aligned for the men in blue.
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