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While there was a phase in Indian cricket when there were very few quality wicketkeeper-batters in the cricketing circuit, in the current scheme of things, there seems to be no dearth of options at the highest level. While Dinesh Karthik has returned to the Indian Blues but is playing as a specialist batter, Rishabh Pant has been donning the gloves in the ongoing series against South Africa.
Moreover, there is Ishan Kishan who is also a wicketkeeper batter and finds his place at the top of the order in the national team. Other than these players, Sanju Samson's name keeps on getting discussed but he hasn't been able to cement his place in the Indian XI.
In a recent interaction, former India World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev shared his views on who he thinks is the best wicketkeeper batter of the lot. He was pretty clear that Samson had disappointed him.
"I am disappointed with Sanju Samson. He is so talented. He does well in one or two matches and then he does not do anything. If we talk about consistency currently, Dinesh Karthik is ahead of all. Ishan Kishan has, I think, come under pressure. Maybe it's the pressure of the high price that he garnered at the IPL auction. I have never got so much money so I will not be able to say," Kapil Dev said in a discussion on Uncut.
"I don't think Dinesh Karthik has surpassed Rishabh Pant in T20s. But this time he has done so well that he forced selectors to not ignore him. Pant is a youngster who has a lot of cricket left, then there is Karthik who has loads of experience. The more said about Karthik the less. He started before Dhoni and is still continuing," he added.
Having said that Pant hasn't been able to score runs in the ongoing T20I series either and has managed only 40 runs in 3 matches. However, Ishan Kishan has been in great form and has scored two half-centuries in three matches. Dinesh Karthik would also like to leave an impact as a finisher lower down the order.