Team India batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes it’s not possible to have each Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the enjoying XI in the course of the Asia Cup, given the India crew administration is unlikely to make adjustments in the highest order – comprising KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav – and the duo are recognized to play specialised roles in the aspect.
India will tackle Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 opener in Dubai afterward Sunday (August 28), with the previous eager to avenge the 10-wicket loss towards the arch-rivals in the course of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 on the identical venue final 12 months.
Pant is a left hander and is used extra as a floater in the aspect as a result of of his adaptability, whereas Karthik is understood for his position as a finisher. With KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja being the automated decisions, Pujara believes there may be place for both of Pant or Karthik in the aspect for the Asia Cup, and he would go together with the previous as a result of the wicketkeeper-batter offers the choice of “left-right combination” with the bat.
“It’s (choosing between Pant and Karthik) a big headache for the team management as both are doing really well in T20 format. The call is whether you want someone to bat at No.5 or you want a finisher who can bat at No. 6 or 7. So, I would say, if you want someone at No. 5, Rishabh Pant is a better choice. But if you want to a have a batting line-up with a very good finisher who is likely to play 10 or 20 balls and give you 40-50 runs, I think DK (Karthik) is the better option,” stated Pujara on ESPNcricinfo T20 Time out.
“Personally, I think, knowing the team management (and) knowing how things work around the team, I would think they might go with Pant because he is a left-hander and gives the team a bit of balance with left-right combination,” added Pujara.
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With some cricket pundits speaking a few re-jig in the highest order, the place Suryakumar Yadav needs to be dropped to accommodate each Pant and Karthik, Pujara felt, it’s not possible to drop ‘SKY’, given his very good kind in T20 cricket. “Surya is one of our top T20 players, so I would definitely want him in the side because he can… he is someone who has done really well for Mumbai Indinas (in IPL). Whenever I’ve seen him at No. 4, he has done exceptionally well. So, I don’t think the team management will leave him out. If Rishabh and Karthik both have to play then I think you have to drop one of the top-order (batters), which is impossible. So, I don`t think both can make the playing XI,” opined Pujara.
On who will play the position of finisher if Karthik will not be in the enjoying XI, Pujara stated Hardik Pandya can do the job very nicely, on condition that he has carried out that position for Gujarat Titans. “I would prefer Hardik for that (finisher`s) role because he is someone who can strike from ball one and his strike rate is above 150. I don`t think Rishabh can do that job because he needs a little more time. And if he (Rishabh) comes in to bat, it should be somewhere around 10 or 12 overs… and if he gets 8-10 overs, he can score a 50 or a bit more than that,” added Pujara.
Pujara’s enjoying XI for India vs Pakistan conflict: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
(with IANS inputs)
