Starting Jitesh Sharma in the last three T20s in Australia might have seemed experimental, but his selection over fellow wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson in the series opener against South Africa clarified the team management’s strategy for the upcoming World Cup at home.

The think tank’s preference for a specialist lower-order finisher over Samson is understandable. Samson, who lost his top-order spot due to no fault of his own after Shubman Gill’s return to the shortest format, has struggled to make the eleven since then.

Jitesh, who describes his role as a finisher as his bread and butter, is likely to start the T20 World Cup for India unless he performs poorly in the preceding series against South Africa and New Zealand.

At present, it’s challenging to look beyond Samson and Jitesh

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