'Dinesh Karthik can have a seat beside me as commentator' - former Indian player unhappy with Karthik's selection in Asia Cup squad
Dinesh Karthik showcased his brilliance as a finisher for the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2022 IPL, scoring 330 runs at a highly impressive strike-rate of 183.33. He had done so for India in the past, most famously in the Nidahas Trophy 2018 final against Bangladesh, and the recent IPL run helped him storm back to the international setup.
Karthik stood up when the opportunity presented itself on limited occasions since his comeback. Heproduced a game-changing 55 off 27 in the fourth T20I against South Africa in Rajkot in June to help India level the series, and later, struck an unbeaten 41 off 19 in the first T20I against the West Indies on a rather challenging surface in Tarouba last week.
He was named in India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2022 on Monday, August 8, and is expected to continue with the designated finisher’s role at No.6 in the tournament and at the T20 World Cup 2022 later this year.
Dinesh Karthik in his latest avatar is perfection!!@HolyCricket_513 details in this long read ⬇️#WIvIND https://t.co/DwIbzNEup8
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) July 29, 2022
However, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja ruled out Karthik’s selection while narrowing down his list for the T20 World Cup. Notably, he sidelined Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Mohammed Shami in the bowling department, with the latter having not played a T20I since the completion of the T20 World Cup 2021.
“I have added Shami to the team,” Jadeja told FanCode before the start of fifth T20I between India and West Indies on Sunday, August 8. “So for me, I select bowlers first. So Shami is a certainty. Bumrah, Arshdeep and Chahal. These are the four certainties. In batting, four are certainties for me - Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and Deepak Hooda. For this bowling attack, you have powerplay, middle overs and death overs sorted. You can bowl them anywhere. Even for the batters, they are flexible."
“Now if you want to play the way I have heard them...aggressive then you have to pick differently. If Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma walks in, you need Dinesh Karthik at all cost. He is your insurance. But if you don't have either of them then Dinesh Karthik has no work here. But yes I would not put Karthik there, he can have a seat beside me. He is very good as a commentator. But there, in the team, I would not pick him. Now the decision is whether you want to play Ravindra or Axar.
“If it's Dhoni style, then add Kohli, Rohit and Karthik. But in modern-day cricket, you have to leave out Karthik. Maybe even Kohli depends on whether he is in form or not.”
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