Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Dinesh Karthik to play ahead of Rishabh Pant in T20Is as India prepares their batting lineup for the 2022 T20 World Cup. He believes that the Men in Blue should make the best use of the veteran wicketkeeper's batting form.
Karthik was played ahead of Pant in their opening match of the Asia Cup against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, August 28, with many questioning the move. But the 37-year-old has been in great form in T20Is since making a return to the team after a stunning Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Karthik made the most of his chances with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), scoring 330 runs at a staggering strike rate of 183.33. He had not played white-ball cricket for India since the 2019 World Cup but his good form pushed his way back into the national set-up.
"Rishabh Pant, no doubt, has done very well even in Test cricket and one-dayers. He has been very good. But in this shortest format, he has not been an accomplished player. However, if you look at Dinesh
Karthik, his graph is only going upward. He has performed well. This is the right decision. In this format, in this form, there is no use keeping him on the bench. It's time for Dinesh Karthik to play, he should play," Harbhajan told AajTak from Dubai.
"Rishabh Pant is young, he still has plenty of time left. However, Dinesh Karthik has only 1-2 years left and he should make the most of it, the team should also use Karthik's form and make the most of it. He can win a lot of matches, batting down the order," he added.
"With Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik batting down the order, I think it's going to be difficult for most opposition bowlers,"
Karthik only faced one delivery in India's five-wicket win over Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pant has played 54 T20Is for India, managing 883 runs at an average of less than 25. The wicketkeeper-batter who captained India during the five-match home series against South Africa has not been able to replicate his longer format performances in T20I cricket.