'He hasn't shown that intention' - Gautam Gambhir hits out at Dinesh Karthik

Former batter Gautam Gambhir reckoned that Rishabh Pant should take the field instead of Dinesh Karthik in India's T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Babar Azam's Pakistan on Sunday, October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

However, Gambhir also said that India would eventually give a chance to Karthik based on the warm-up matches against Western Australia XI and Aaron Finch's Australia. 

Gambhir said that the Men in Blue are picking Karthik to play around 10 balls, but the veteran felt that it shouldn't ideally be the case. 

Gambhir, who retired from all forms of cricket back in December 2018, said that in case India lose early wickets, they would find themselves in trouble regarding their batting order. 

“In my playing XI, Rishabh Pant should play at No.5, Hardik Pandya at no.6, and Axar Patel at no.7. But what we have seen in the practice matches, Dinesh Karthik will play. But a player is not picked to play just 10 balls," Gambhir was quoted as saying to Zee.  

"You should pick a player so that he can bat at No.5 or 6. But Dinesh Karthik has not shown that intention. He and the team management have show the intention that he will bat only in the last 2-3 overs and that can be dangerous because in Australia, if you lose early wickets, you might have to send in Axar Patel early because you also wouldn't want to expose Hardik early. That is why I picked Pant in my playing XI. But again that won't happen,” he added. 

Earlier this year, Karthik made his comeback to the Indian team after performing well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). During the league, he played quite a few knocks of substance in the middle-order after which he earned a recall to the national team after three years.