Ravi Shastri believes India should persist with their young left-hander Rishabh Pant ahead of experienced wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik for the semifinal clash against England at the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday. The former India head coach opined that Pant would be a more ideal fit into the line-up than Karthik against an England attack featuring a leggie at the Adelaide Oval.
With short square boundaries at the historic ground that will host the marquee knock-out fixture, Shastri said Pant would be primed to dominate Adil Rashid through the middle-overs and ease the task for his side.
“Dinesh (Karthik) is a lovely team player. But when it comes to a game against England or New Zealand, just seeing their attack, I think you need a robust left-hander, who can turn it on and a match-winner and a left-hander,”
he told Star Sports.
“He has done well against England. He recently won a match on his win against England, a one-day game. I would go with Pant, not just because he played here, but because of the X-factor angle, he can bring to the semi-final,”
he added.
Shastri retriggered the Pant versus Karthik debate on the back of India including the former over the latter in their playing XI for the last Super 12s clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Zimbabwe. The 25-year-old made 3 off 5 before being dismissed caught in the deep to left-arm spinner Sean Williams.
After the game, head coach Rahul Dravid explained the idea of bringing in the left-hander amidst a minor injury scare to Karthik was to provide him some game time and keep their options open before the knock-outs stage. Karthik, Dravid indicated, would return to the side against England if he has regained full fitness.
But Shastri thinks it is Pant who should get the nod over the fellow wicketkeeper in the side, considering it’s the combination of England and Adelaide Oval that India will counter to earn a spot in the final at MCG.
“You are playing in Adelaide, short boundaries square, another reason why a left-hander should be there to disrupt the England attack. If you have too many right-handers, there is a sense of sameness to it. England has a nice attack, a varied attack of left-handers and right-handers.”
“You need a left-hander in your team, who can be dangerous and win you a game in the back overs even if you have lost 3 or 4 wickets at the top,”
he remarked.
In a true sense, however, Pant and Karthik aren’t fighting for the same spot at all. While Pant was supposed to be India’s middle-overs aggressor to counter favourable match-ups, Karthik had been picked as an end-overs specialist for his power-hitting skills. The struggles of the latter in the competition to cope with high-end bounce – 14 runs from three innings – have given way to a narrative wherein prominent experts are calling for Pant’s inclusion above him.
This, even as Pant has never been doing justice to those expectations in the shortest format. An impactful player in Tests and a rising middle-overs attacker in ODIs, Pant has a horrible T20I record against his name. After 53 innings, the player averages a measly 23.51 with a strike-rate of 127 for his 964 runs.
Against favourable match-ups, too, Pant has failed to withstand his own over the years. The left-hander has a strike-rate of only 121 and 120 against left-arm orthodox and right-arm leg spin, respectively, in T20Is for the national side.
Against this backdrop, the team management is in for a headache whether to bring back Dinesh Karthik, not long ago their tried and tested death-overs aggressor. Or stick with Pant, whose match-winning capabilities are not in doubt but also clear are his repeated failings
