"There is a traffic jam at the top" - Irfan Pathan picks Jitesh Sharma ahead of Ishan Kishan in India's T20 World Cup squad

Irfan Pathan has picked Jitesh Sharma ahead of Ishan Kishan as his preferred wicketkeeper-batter in India's T20 World Cup squad. He reasoned that there is no vacant place for an opener, a position where the latter is at his best.

Jitesh and Kishan are the two wicketkeeper-batters in India's 17-member squad for the ongoing three-match T20I series against South Africa. Neither got to put forth their case in the first game on Sunday as it was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked to choose between the duo for India's T20 World Cup squad. He cast his vote for Jitesh, reasoning:

"I will play Jitesh hands down. I have maintained from earlier that if you have to play Ishan, whether it is ODIs or T20Is, you have to play him at the top, and there is a traffic jam at the top."

The former India all-rounder claimed that Kishan needs to get his eye in against the new ball before facing the spinners.

"It's very difficult for Ishan Kishan to make his place. This is my belief. I don't know at all what the team management thinks but his ability that I have judged for many years, I feel he needs the hard new ball and then he plays spin well," Pathan added.

Kishan has batted only once below No. 3 in T20I cricket, scoring an unbeaten 20 against Sri Lanka in July 2021.

He has played 27 of his 32 innings as an opener but might not get that position if he remains in the mix, with the likes of Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

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"Jitesh Sharma is a slightly creative player" - Irfan Pathan

Jitesh Sharma has excelled as a lower-middle-order batter. [P/C: AP]

On the flip side, Irfan Pathan pointed out that Jitesh Sharma's innovative game makes him an ideal batter down the order.

"When you bat in the middle order, you will get spin in front of you, and there you (Kishan) might have difficulties at times. Jitesh Sharma is a slightly creative player. He is a Suryakumar Yadav-mold type player. You will see him playing the lap and different types of shots," he elaborated.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Vidarbha cricketer has had a phenomenal run lately.

"His growth in T20 cricket in the last one to one-and-a-half years has been fantastic. He has been doing the finisher's role extremely well for the Punjab Kings in the IPL and he recently played two very good innings (for India). His strike rate is always impressive and he plays both spin and fast bowling well," Pathan observed.

Jitesh has smashed 64 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 164.10 in three T20I innings. He smoked 309 runs at an excellent strike rate of 156.06 in 14 innings for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2023.