Kiran More feels both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant should be part of India’s playing XI at the 2022 Asia Cup. Kiran More would prefer to leave out Deepak Hooda on the bench in favour of the two wicket-keepers.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the Asia Cup squad on Monday, 7 August. The team saw two of its biggest stars come back to the Indian team – Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
Harshal Patel And Jasprit Bumrah Were Ruled Out Of Asia Cup 2022 With Injuries
However, there were upsets on the card because India was forced out of playing their best XI once again with Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah getting injured and subsequently getting sidelined from the tournament.
However, going into the tournament, one of the major headscratchers turned out to be the selection of the current Indian batting line-up, with multiple stars vying for spots in full-time batting positions.
The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and now the returning KL Rahul will have a good shout for the spots. India has selected a right-handed dominant batting line-up with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja being the only two left-handers.
Kiran More Would Want Both Rishabh Pant And Dinesh Karthik To Play
Former India cricketer Kiran More took on the matter and said that he would not bother selecting Dinesh Karthik in the squad if he does not get to play in the starting XI.
“In my playing XI, both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik will play. If the idea is for Dinesh Karthik to sit outside, then I will not take him to tours. He has performed very well in the recent times, he has been given the role of the specialist finisher as well,” Kiran More said.
“Rishabh Pant has not made a lot of runs in that role, and he has struggled a little as well. But he is a super player, and I will definitely play him. I will probably sit out Deepak Hooda from the team and play with Hardik Pandya, Pant, Karthik and Jadeja,” Kiran More further added.
Dinesh Karthik had not played for India since 2019 and his career in international cricket was looking as good as over. However, his performance in IPL 2022 has completely changed his fortunes. In 16 IPL games, he smashed 330 runs at an astonishing average of 55 and a brilliant strike rate of more than 183.
Dinesh Karthik has done well for India too since being recalled. Recently, he showed his finishing abilities once again by playing a fine quickfire knock in the first T20I against West Indies. He smashed an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls to help India post 190 and win the game by 68 runs.
India Squad
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Chahar, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Back-up: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel.