At the T20 World Cup 2022 group stage match between India and South Africa, which took place at the Optus Stadium in Perth, India did not do well. The Men in Blue had been in excellent form, having won their previous two matches in a row, but the Proteas spinners held India to a low score of 133 runs, and the batsmen then chased it down in the last over to deliver India their first defeat.
Dinesh Karthik was able to reclaim his spot on the Indian squad as a result of his prowess with the bat in the lower order. In addition, he was able to win the confidence of both the captain and the coach to secure his position in the playing combination.
Karthik, on the other hand, has not made a very good impression so far in the competition. Against Pakistan, he was run out for a low score, and against South Africa, he laboured to score before being removed from the game.
Rishabh Pant, who has experience playing on Australian pitches, should have been given the opportunity to play the game, according to Virender Sehwag, a former India cricketer and legendary batter, who was dissatisfied with Karthik’s approach to the game.
“This should have happened from the beginning. Rishabh Pant has played Tests and One-Day Internationals there and done well, so he knows what to do in these conditions. When did Dinesh Karthik last play in Australia, and when was the last time he played on wickets that bounced so much? This is not a wicket in Bengaluru. Even today, I said that Pant should have been on the team instead of Hooda because Pant has played here before. His innings at the Gabba is legendary,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“I can only give them ideas; it’s up to the management to decide what to do. If Karthik is fit, they will return to him. But I think Rishabh Pant should have been in the eleven from the beginning,” he added.
Deepak Hooda replaced Axar Patel in India’s batting lineup for the match against South Africa. However, India did not use Deepak Hooda as a spinner and instead used him only as a batter.
This was India’s only alteration to their lineup for the match. Hooda was unable to create an impression, and as a result, Sehwag came to the conclusion that Pant would have been a superior choice over Hooda.
