India need to fix No.4 position, get balance by picking either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik: Saba Karim
India Today
Saba Karim believes the selectors need to pick between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik and once one player is decided, it would be easier to slot in Suryakumar Yadav at No.4.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim feels that the selectors need to pick either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik and once one player is decided, it would be easier to slot in Suryakumar Yadav at No.4.
Since his comeback to T20I cricket in June, Karthik has been bringing out the required finishing acts and effectively sealing the finisher spot in the Indian team. A 27-ball 55 on a tough pitch against South Africa at Rajkot and an unbeaten 19-ball 41 on a tricky pitch against West Indies at Trinidad have been some examples of Karthik's finishing role benefitting India in recent times.
On the other hand, Pant has had a mixed run apart from being tried as an opener twice against England. Since the T20I series against South Africa in June, where he was the stand-in skipper, Pant's highest score has been 44 in the fourth T20I against West Indies at Lauderhill, USA.
“Yes, you better need to sort it out as soon as possible. But you know what, to fix the No. 4 slot or the number four position for a specific player, we need to get the combination and balance of the sides correct. When I say this I mean they need to pick between Dinesh Kartik or Rishabh Pant. Once you decide on either of these players, it'll be easy to sort in Suryakumar Yadav at number four," Saba Karim said on SPORTS18's daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP'.
Karim also feels that India might be better served to go with five bowlers and Hardik Pandya as their sixth option.
“I feel that to get the balance right, India has done well with five bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as a 6 bowling option. So would you like to break that kind of a combination and get in another bat at number 7, that is Dinesh Karthik at number 7? That means that you go in with Hardik Pandya, the fifth bowler who is expected to bowl 4 overs, so that is another big call from the Indian team management," Karim said.
"So then, if so, that that may pose some issues for the Indian team management. Whatever I have seen from Rohit Sharma's captaincy, I think he prefers to have five regular bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as their six bowling options. If that is the case then you need to decide between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik," he added.
