'MS Dhoni Is Coming To US...': Rohit Sharma Opens Up On India's Wicket-Keeper Spot For T20 World Cup

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will have a tough task on hand when the stakeholders sit to pick the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The gala event will be played days after the IPL thus players' performance in the T20 extravaganza will be a significant selection criteria, however, that would mean that a few regular players might struggle to find a place in the squad. One of the toughest decisions for the selectors would be to pick the wicketkeeper for the marquee event, given that there are usually just two slots available for the specialist role.

Rishabh Pant is almost certain to be the first-choice keeper but picking a suitable back-up could be a headache. The likes of Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, or even KL Rahul were on selectors' radar for the backup keeper, but a stunning show by Dinesh Karthik in IPL 2024 has also grabbed eyeballs. Karthik has been one of the bright spots in a rather gloomy season for RCB. The 38-year-old has lit up the tournament with sensational stroke play, scoring 226 runs at a strike rate of over 200, including two fifties.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma hinted that Dinesh Karthik is not out of World Cup contention. While responding to Adam Gilchrist, who asked Rohit if Karthik or even MS Dhoni could be considered for the T20 World Cup, Rohit said Dinesh Karthik would be easier to convince for the World Cup than MS Dhoni.

"I was quite impressed, quite impressed, especially with Dinesh. The way he batted a couple of nights back. Dhoni, as well, he came to play 4 balls, made a huge impact, with those 20 runs. That was eventually the difference in the game," said Rohit Sharma on Club Prairie Fire.

"It'll be hard to convince MSD for sure to come to the West Indies I guess. He is sick and tired. He is coming to the US though to do something else. He is into golf, so he will play golf I guess. DK will be easy to convince I guess," Rohit said.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's place in the T20 World Cup is also a hot topic of debate. Earlier, a few reports stated that the selectors didn't find Virat Kohli's approach suitable for T20 format thus Kohli's place in the ICC event is not certain. However, Kohli lit up the IPL 2024 with stunning batsmanship, scoring a hundred and a couple of fifties. After the veteran's heroics, several reports claimed that Virat Kohli is all but certain to get picked in the T20 World Cup squad and would be opening the innings along with Rohit Sharma. The captain, however, refuted the claims, saying that reports that come from any other source than him, Rahul Dravid, or Ajit Agarkar should not be believed.

"We haven't met so far, we haven't decided who'll open at the World Cup (on him and Kohli opening). In today's age, until and unless you don't hear from me, Rahul bhai or Ajit bhai, everything else is fake," said Rohit.