Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that Dinesh Karthik was being looked at as a first-choice finisher, but was dropped for the important clash against arch-rivals.
Rahul Dravid had said that there is no first choice wicket keeper and selection will depend on team combinations. Image: BCCI/Twitter
Former India legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed surprise over the exclusion of Dinesh Karthik from the playing XI in the Super four contest against Pakistan on Tuesday.
The team combinations were definitely affected due to Ravindra Jadeja’s exclusion and Avesh Khan’s ill health. India probably preferred Rishabh Pant over Karthik to have a left-hander in the middle order. But Karthik had not got an opportunity to bat so far in the tournament.
Gavaskar also highlighted that Dinesh Karthik was being looked at as a first-choice finisher, but was dropped for the important clash against arch-rivals.
“Dropping Dinesh Karthik – that was something that was hard to understand. Here, you have already identified him as a finisher and in this big match, you don’t have him on your team. So that was a bit of a surprise,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Pant failed to have an impact on the match as he was dismissed on 14 runs from 12 deliveries. Virat Kohli struggled in the death overs and he also rued the absence of a finisher at the post-match media interaction stating that he could not play more risky shots as he didn’t have much support.
Read: Tough road ahead for India without Ravindra Jadeja
However, Kohli’s form has been ecstatic for the Indian team as well as fans. Kohli has hit two half-centuries in three games and is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. Gavaskar as well showered praise on the Indian star batter.
“He was middling the ball from the first ball he faced. There were a couple of terrific shots, the pull shot was the best of them all, and even the flick for six to get to his fifty, there were some excellent shots. Most importantly, he was middling all the shots apart from one from the leg-spinner. Otherwise, everything was from the middle of the bat.
“That’s what gives batter confidence. It’s not the number of runs that you score, but how you batted, he has batted quite superbly in this game against Pakistan. That augurs really well for India in the matches to come, Gavaskar added.
India will face Sri Lanka in their next Super four match on Tuesday, which will largely be a do-or-die situation for them.
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