The former Indian fast bowler Vivek Razdan, who was one of the experts on Fancode during the recently concluded T20I series between India and the West Indies, reckons that Dinesh Karthik is blocking a spot in the Indian T20I team because of the specific kind of role that he is playing.
Dinesh Karthik has made a comeback to the Indian T20I team recently as a finisher, but he has been used specifically during a certain period of the innings by the team management. He is generally designated to bat at no. 6, but he isn’t sent out at his designated position if the team loses 4 wickets inside the 15th over mark.
Karthik has been used only in the last 5 overs of the innings most of the time and although he has played three match-winning knocks for India in the last three T20I series, Vivek Razdan is not quite convinced about his selection and his role in the team.
India has got other players who can score boundaries in the last 5 overs: Vivek Razdan
According to Vivek Razdan, it’s not that India doesn’t have players who can play the big shots or score boundaries towards the end of the innings. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya and if the need arises, even Virat Kohli can play the big shots towards the end of the innings.
It’s strange to have this tactic of using one player specifically for the last 5 overs because the team management is clearly not convinced about Karthik’s ability to come to the crease early and play for a longer part of the innings. They are just convinced about what he can do in the last 5 overs.
I prefer Sanju Samson above Dinesh Karthik for Asia Cup. pic.twitter.com/c5ypsxsJMG
— Just Butter (@ItzButter63) August 7, 2022
With T20 World Cup approaching fast, the competition for batting spots in the Indian T20I team is getting intense and with India playing a completely different style of T20I cricket than they were playing a year back, many players are being selected for specific roles.
Picking #DineshKarthik for #T20WorldCup is like repeating mistakes of picking players like Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav. I have a feeling that selectors will pick this outdated finisher thanks to all the outside noise which self proclaimed analysts make #BCCI #T20I #RohitSharma
— Abhijeet Desai (@ADesai0823) August 6, 2022
