The T20 World Cup is just around the corner and team management is sweating over who to pick and who to leave out. Team India has managed to create a solid pool and to manage the workload of senior players, several youngsters have been given a chance to prove themselves. However, the story of Dinesh Karthik is completely different. He made a comeback in the national team after strong performances in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The 37-year-old batter has managed to make his way to the finisher’s job, but due to disappointing returns in the last few T20Is against the West Indies, several pundits are questioning his place. Now former India selector Saba Karim has said the selectors will have to choose between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik and once a player has been chosen it would be easier to place Suryakumar Yadav at number 4.
‘Yes, you have to arrange it as soon as possible. But you know what, to fix the number 4 position or the number four position for a specific player, we need to get the side combination and balance correct. When I say this I mean they have to choose between Dinesh Kartik or Rishabh Pant. Once you pick one of these players, it becomes easy to sort in Suryakumar Yadav at number four,” said Saba Karim on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show “SPORTS OVER THE TOP.”
Karim also believes that India might be better served to go with five bowlers and Hardik Pandya as their sixth option.
“To get the right balance, I feel India has done well with five bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as six bowling options. So do you want to break such a combination and get into another bat at number 7, which is Dinesh Karthik at number 7? That means with Hardik Pandya you enter the fifth bowler who is expected to bowl 4 overs, so that’s another big call from the Indian team management,” said Karim.
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“So if so, that could pose problems for Indian team management. Whatever I’ve seen of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, I think he prefers five regular bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as their six bowling option. If that’s the case , then you have to choose between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik,” he added.
In the series against the West Indies, Karthik scored 66 points in five games, while Pant returned with 115 points in four games.
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