VB Chandrasekhar, the former India selector from South Zone, has expressed his disappointment over the selection of Dinesh Karthik in the place of injured Manish Pandey, as he thinks Krunal Pandya could have been a better option than Karthik,
“India is a good side but unfortunately some of the key players haven’t shown great form in the IPL. That’s definitely an area of concern. Dinesh Karthik is in great form and all that is fine, but the selectors should have gone for in-form Krunal Pandya. As far as batting is concerned, most of them are struggling,” said Chandrasekhar while speaking to Sportstar during a live chat show on Friday.
Chandrasekhar reckoned the name of Pandya, who was in a good form during the recently concluded IPL. The all-rounder played a brilliant innings knock of 47 in the final to steer Mumbai Indians to score 129, which the Rohit Sharma-led side defended to win the cup for the record third time.
Earlier, it was Pandey who edged out Karthik to get a place in the side for Champions Trophy, as looking at Karthik’s form in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2016/17, everyone was expecting him to make a cut but selectors opted for a safe approach and Pandey was retained.
However, he injured himself during IPL and was further replaced by Karthik. The wicket-keeper batsmen flew to England with the team last week and also participated in the first practice game. However, he did not have a great outing, as he was dismissed on nought, and was seen struggling against New Zealand bowling during his nine ball stay at the crease.
The wicket-keeper batsman would be hoping to go and replicate his performance of last Champions Trophy where he scored two back to back centuries in the practice games to cement his place in the side.
Further, the former selectors also raised concerns over the form of Shikhar Dhawan, who edged out many other performing players in IPL,
“Though people might say that T20 is different from limited overs cricket, it would have been better had the Indian batsmen gone into the Champions Trophy with a better form,” Chandrasekhar added.
It is a fact that Dhawan has made it to the team on the basis of his performance in the last Champions Trophy, as looking at his form, he does not deserve a place. Dhawan, who was the favourite player of the skipper himself made way for KL Rahul to cement his place in the team in the longest format of the game and then was also dropped from the ODI side for the final ODI against England as well.
However, an injury to KL Rahul paved way for Dhawan. The left-handed batsman will hope to emulate his performance so as make the most out of the absence of KL Rahul.