Team India kicked off their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on a winning note. Rohit Sharma and Co won the all-important encounter against Pakistan by 5 wickets. The Indian team management made a bold selection choice ahead of their encounter against Pakistan. Skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first. At the toss, Rohit revealed they had made the difficult choice of including Dinesh Karthik ahead of Rishabh Pant.
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The decision to play 37-year-old Karthik ahead of Pant has raised many eyebrows. Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta said that India should have picked Rishabh Pant ahead of Dinesh Karthik for the clash against Pakistan.
While speaking on the Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, Deep Dasgupta said he preferred Pant in the playing XI because his batting position is flexible. He said Dinesh Karthik can be utilized only as a finisher. Deep Dasgupta supplemented his pick with the argument that Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can also play the role of a finisher in Karthik’s absence.
This year’s Asia Cup is of great importance as ICC T20 World Cup 2022 is round the corner. Skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid would like to have a settled batting order before the prestigious ICC event. India clearly suffers from the problem of plenty. India’s selection conundrum is that they can either include Pant or Karthik in the playing XI. While Dinesh Karthik has been in terrific form since the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pant has also been in good touch. In fact, the 24-year-old is widely believed to be the future of Indian team across all formats. Pant was in superlative form against West Indies and scored 115 runs in four matches at an average of 38.33 and an impressive strike rate of 141.97.
Therefore, this decision of the Indian team management surprised several pundits. India will now lock horns with minnows Hong Kong in their next match on August 31. It remains to be seen if skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid persist with the same playing XI in the upcoming matches.
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