Once KL, Rohit, Surya and Virat are back, I don’t see Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI: Gautam Gambhir

Dinesh Karthik had a stunning season for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL where he played the role of a designated finisher to perfection. Such was his impact, that the Indian selectors named him in the squad for the ongoing series against South Africa.

The right-hander gave a glimpse of his ability in the second T20I where he scored a brilliant 30 runs to give India the late finish. However, few eyebrows were raised when he was sent after Axar Patel and former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir was not too convinced with the tactics either.

Not known to mince words, Gambhir went on to say that India could have used a younger option instead of Dinesh Karthik in this series as he does not see Karthik retain his spot in the team once the likes of KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja make a return to the scheme of things.

“In such a case I would not have him (Karthik) in the World Cup Squad. We have got KL Rahul, we’ve got Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma. Once they come back, it’s going to be tough for Dinesh Karthik to find a place in the playing XI. If he doesn’t have a place in the playing XI, there’s no point giving him a place in the squad,” Gambhir said while speaking on Star Sports’ show Match Point.

The former India batter also said that Karthik needed to perform consistently if have to stay in the mix. He also believed that India needed someone in the top 7 who could offer overs as well as be the finisher. Gambhir said that the only way the selectors can accommodate Karthik in the playing XI was by dropping one of the big 4 at the top of the order.

“Once KL, Rohit, Surya and Virat are back, I don’t see him in the playing XI. This will be your top 4 and then you’ll have someone like Hooda, Pant, Hardik, Jadeja. I will have a younger guy (in place of Karthik) who is a better fielder on those grounds and can probably chip in with a couple of overs as well,” he added.