On the back of Virat Kohli's scintillating strokeplay and Suryakumar Yadav's batting pyrotechnics, Team India defeated Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20I in Hyderabad on September 25 (Sunday) and clinched the three-match series by a margin of 2-1. The Men in Blue, who had lost the opening match of the series, fashioned a remarkable comeback win.
While it was a productive series for the Men in Blue, the team is still grappling to find answers to some persisting questions - death bowling being one of them.
The debate surrounding Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik has been raging since the time the latter re-ignited his career by evolving as a dashing finisher while the former suffered a steep decline in his form in the shortest format of the game. With T20 World Cup less than a month away, Team India has a tough decision to make: whether to play Pant and Karthik in the same XI or in case of choosing one wicketkeeper-batter, who should it be?
Karthik played all three matches against Australia while Pant was included in the playing XI for the second T20I but didn't get a chance to bat. After the win against Australia on Sunday, captain Rohit Sharma iterated that he wants to give Karthik more time in the middle before the team heads Down Under for the T20 World Cup next month.
“I wanted both of these guys to have a number of games under their belt before the World Cup. When we went to the Asia Cup both of these guys were in the fray to play all games," Rohit said at the post-match press conference after India clinched the three-match series against Australia on Sunday.
“But I just feel that Dinesh needs a little more game time. He hardly got to bat (this series). Just maybe three balls. So that’s not enough time,” Rohit added.
Karthik faced seven balls in total against Australia, while Pant played only one game where he did not get a chance to bat.
“Pant also needs game time obviously. But looking at how this series was it was important for me to just stick to that consistent batting lineup," he affirmed.
India take on South Africa for a three-match T20I series, starting Wednesday and Rohit said Karthik and Pant's inclusion in the playing xi will depend upon the situation.
“I don't know what we're gonna do against South Africa. We just need to go and see their bowling, what sort of bowling lineup they'll play with, and who are the best guys for us who can handle that bowling lineup. It all depends on that.
“We want to be flexible in our batting. So if the situation or if the thing demands that we need a left-hander, we will bring in a left-hander if we need a right-hander, we will continue to do that.
“But we'll try and manage those guys pretty carefully. I do understand that they need game time before the World Cup but there are only 11 players you can play, unfortunately," the Indian captain added.
(With PTI inputs)
