Asia Cup 2022: Hard to understand India's decision to drop Dinesh Karthik vs Pakistan, says Sunil Gavaskar
India Today
Asia Cup 2022: India decided to drop Dinesh Karthik and retain Rishabh Pant for their Super 4 match against Pakistan. Pant failed to get going, getting out for 14 to leg-spinner Shadab Khan in India's 5-wicket loss on Sunday.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he was surprised by India's selection for their Super Four match against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022, highlighting that he was not able to understand the call to drop Dinesh Karthik for the crunch encounter.
Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that Dinesh Karthik was being looked at as a finisher but he missed the crucial Super 4 tie against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India dropped Dinesh Karthik to include Rishabh Pant in the playing XI as a knee injury to Ravindra Jadeja did affect the team combination. Jadeja, who played a crucial role in their wins over Pakistan and Hong Kong in the group stages, was ruled out ahead of the Super 4s due to a knee injury.
India had played Ravindra Jadeja in the top 4 against Pakistan in the group-stage match and picked Dinesh Karthik ahead of Rishabh Pant. However, Pant made his way back into the team for their match against Hong Kong while Karthik also kept his place.
"Also dropping Dinesh Karthik, that was something that was hard to understand. Here, you have already identified him as a finisher and in this big match, you don’t have him on your team. So that was a bit of a surprise," Gavaskar told India Today after India's 5-wicket loss to Pakistan.
Pant failed to make use of the opportunity as the left-hander managed just 14 runs in 12 balls, struggling to get going in the middle overs. Pant got out while trying to play a switch hit against Shadab Khan, the leg-spinner. It was a shot that went against the match-up of a left-handed batter against a spinner who turned the ball into him.
Furthermore, Gavaskar heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying the former India captain is looking more confident than before, middling most of the shots he is playing. The legendary batter said Kohli's return to form only augurs well for India for the remainder of the tournament.
