The high-voltage match of the Asia Cup 2022 between
India and Pakistan will be played at the Dubai International Stadium. Indian
batsman Cheteshwar Pujara called it a big headache to include either Dinesh
Karthik or Rishabh Pant in the playing 11. But if it is a matter of giving a
chance to either of the two, then Pujara has talked about giving preference to
Pant over Karthik.
Cheteshwar Pujara said in ESPN Cricinfo’s T20 time-out
program ahead of India vs Pakistan match, “First of all, it is a big
headache for the team management because both Pant and Karthik are doing well
in the T20 format. The difficult thing is whether you want to bat at No.5 or
whether you want to finish at No.6 or No.7.
The Indian Test specialist further said, ‘So I would
say that if you want to bat at number-5 then Rishabh Pant is a better option.
But your batting needs a sequence that has a very good finisher, who can score
40-50 runs in 10 or 20 balls, then Karthik will be a better option.
The Indian team has tried many batsmen in the last few
months for one reason or another, both Pant and Karthik have done well in this
format. But Virat Kohli is back. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and
Hardik Pandya have also arrived.
However, not a single left-handed batsman is involved
in this. Because of this too, Pant can get preference over Karthik. Pujara
said, “Knowing the team management personally & how the team works. I think
Pant will get a chance as he is a left-handed batsman and this will give the
team a balance of left-right-handed batsman combination.
Pujara told that if Karthik is dropped then who can play
the role of a finisher in his place? On this, the Indian batsman took the name of
Hardik Pandya.
Pujara said, ‘I would love to see Hardik Pandya
playing that role. He is such a batsman who knows how to hit big shots from the
very first ball and his strike rate is always more than 150. I don’t think Pant
can do that job because he takes time to settle down. If Pant has to come to
bat, then his turn should come in the 10th or 12th over. Then he can score a
half-century or more.
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