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. Karthik faced seven balls in total against Australia, while Pant played only one game where he did not get a chance to bat.
Former India selector Saba Karim reckons that India's strategy of keeping Karthik ahead of Pant in the pecking order is not a bad one.
“Well, there is always a possibility, but I think the Indian team management have decided to go ahead with Dinesh Karthik which is not a bad move," Karim said on Sports18.
"They feel that they need more of his kind of a player at number six who can do the finisher’s role in a much better manner because Rishabh Pant in that kind of particular role has not been tried before and places above that have kind of been sorted. So, I do have my doubts that Rishabh Pant will get a look in because the Indian team has kind of found the right combination," he added.
