Since the time Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant were both named in India's 2022 T20 World Cup squad, a debate has been raging on who should be the Men in Blue's first wicket-keeping option. Rishabh Pant finally got a game in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Against Zimbabwe, Rohit Sharma dropped out-of-form Dinesh Karthik to include Pant in the playing XI on November 6. Pant failed to make the most of the opportunity and got out for a single-digit score. Pant had featured in practice games against Western Australia but failed to score in double digits. He did not get a chance in the warm-up game against Australia.
Karthik himself has struggled in the competition so far. In limited opportunities under immense pressure, the veteran right-hander has failed to produce an innings of substance even once. In three innings, he has aggregated 14 runs at a strike rate of 63.63 and an average of 4.66 while he has hit only one boundary.
Now for the crunch semi-final match against England, the team management and Rohit are once again tasked to take the tough decision of choosing between the two wicket-keepers. Having said that, the Indian captain during his press conference on November 09 (Tuesday) hinted at persisting with the young southpaw over seasoned Karthik.
"Rishabh (Pant) didn’t get to play all games including a few practice games. He was the only guy missing in that list. It will be unfair if you bring the guy to and make him play straight away. We have told all the guys about this to be ready whenever required. We wanted to give left-hander an opportunity against Zimbabwe. What is going to happen tomorrow won’t be able to tell you now," Rohit said.
The Men in Blue will lock horns against England in the second semi-final on November 10 (Thursday) at the Adelaide Oval.