New Delhi, Aug 12 : Former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim believes that the team must choose between keeping one of Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik in the eleven-man squad.The Asia Cup starting from August 27 in the UAE The tournament provides an opportunity for India to establish their squad for the coming of the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.
Since his return in T20I cricket in June, Karthik has been bringing out the necessary finishing acts and has been able to secure the spot of a finisher in the Indian team.
A 27-ball 55 on a difficult surface against South Africa at Rajkot and an unbeaten 19-ball 41 on a difficult surface against West Indies at Trinidad have been a few instances of Karthik’s final role that has benefited India in the recent past.
On the other the other hand, Pant has had a inconsistent run, apart from being a potential opener in two occasions against England.In the T20I series against South Africa in June, in which he was skipper stand-in Pant’s best score was 44 in the fourth T20I against the West Indies at Lauderhill, USA.
“I think that to achieve the right balance, India has done well with five bowlers, plus Hardik Pandya, who is a 6 bowling option.Would you like to break this kind of an arrangement and bring in another bat on number 7 which includes Dinesh Karthik, who is number seven? This means you’ll be going in with Hardik Pandya, the fifth bowler, who will be expected to bowl 4 overs, which is another major decision by the Indian team management.”
“So is that, if it is so, it could pose some problems to management of the Indian team’s management.From what I’ve seen of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, I believe he prefers having five regular bowlers along with Hardik Pandya as their sixth bowling options.
If this is the case then you have to choose between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik,” said Karim on the ‘Sports over the Top’ on Sports18.
Karim said that deciding whether to keep Pant or Karthik in the eleven will aid in India finding the fourth place in T20Is.”Yes you’ll need to resolve this issue as soon as you can.But is needed to fix the number.4 slot or the four position for a particular player, we must find the balance and combination of the side right.”
“When I refer to this, I mean they have to choose between Dinesh Kartik or Rishabh Pant.If you choose one of these players, it will be easy to put in Suryakumar Yadav in the top four.”
Karim has also selected Suryakumar, Pandya and Pant to be his preferred batters at five, four and six.KL Rahul was his preferred choice to open the batting with Rohit Sharma.Rahul has been absent of cricketing competition since he played in the IPL 2022 Eliminator on May 25 in Kolkata.
His team, the debutants Lucknow Super Giants, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 14 runs at Eden Gardens.
Rahul was then named captain of the five-match T20I series in the home ground against South Africa in June.
However, a groin injury to the right on the day of the first game in New Delhi ruled him out of the series.The surgery for a sports hernia in Germany resulted in Rahul was out of England tour too.
He was scheduled to return in India’s T20I series against West Indies, but a positive Covid-19 test prior to the start of the tour was the reason why he was not included in tour to the Caribbean and ODIs against Zimbabwe.However, with T20 World Cup in Australia approaching, Rahul is now fully capable of being again in game for India in the shortest form of the game.
“KL Rahul, who is the vice-captain, I see his potential as an opener with Rohit Sharma.I consider Virat Kohli as number 3.And Suryakumar Yadav at number 4.But is 4,5,6? It’s a extremely flexible of an position as in the T20 format you will see the 4,5,6 players who can complete games for you.They can also be an ace hitter when needed and can also help stabilize the pitch.”
“Those three batters are 4,5,6.My preference would be Suryakumar Yadav Hardik Pandya, or Rishabh Pant.You can also change them around based on the amount of overs left with.
However, KL Rahul in my opinion, should bat in the order with Rohit Sharma,” concluded Karim.
nr/inj
