Nearly two months before the next T20 World Cup rolls in, the competition for India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter continues. Jitesh Sharma right now seems to be ahead in the race despite Sanju Samson not doing much wrong. Four matches in a row, India have gone with Jitesh in their playing XI and the return of a certain Shubman Gill seems to have sealed Samson’s fate.

Samson produced stunning performances after being promoted to open for India in T20Is, forming a formidable partnership with rising star Abhishek Sharma. He peeled off three centuries in five matches in 2024 and irrespective of eras and teams, such performances should have sealed his spot as the first-choice opening batter.

However, with Gill proving his quality as a world-class all-format batter in addition to his lead

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