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Adam Gilchrist Gives His Verdict On Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant Debate
By CricShots - Sep 23, 2022 11:35 am
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Former Australian wicket-keeper, Adam Gilchrist is arguably one of the best glovemen in the history of the game. While the likes of Quinton de Kock, Mohammad Rizwan, and Rishabh Pant are making a strong mark today as wicket-keepers, they still have a long way to go before matching the Australian legend. So with India currently grappling the highly-debated Pant vs Dinesh Karthik situation, who better than Gilchrist to offer a solution?

Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant

Both Pant and Karthik have been named in India’s T20 World Cup squad, but it seems as if only one will be able to find a place in the XI. Lately, there have been several toss-ups between Pant and Karthik, with both getting tried in the XI but neither able to cement his place. However, going by the latest trend, it seems as if the management is expected to favor Karthik more. Weighing in on the topic, Adam Gilchrist feels that no matter what the situation is, he is not in favor of benching Pant.

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During a recent chat with ICC, as per the quotes in Hindustan Times, Adam Gilchrist said, “The dare of Rishabh Pant and the courage for him, the way in which he takes on bowling attacks. I think he’s got to be a must in that Indian line-up. They can play together, but I think Rishabh Pant has definitely got to be in there.”

Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist

Rishabh Pant warmed the bench during  India’s opening game of the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan with Karthik getting the nod ahead of him. Pant then featured in the game against Sri Lanka before getting replaced by Karthik against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage. 

With teh team management playing musical chair in the middle order, neither Pant nor Karthik has been able to do much with the bat. While Pant has raised his ODI game after already excelling in Tests, he is still struggling in T20Is; whereas Karthik has been shaped by India to be their finisher at the T20 World Cup. 

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Talking about Pant and Karthik further, Adam Gilchrist said, “It will be interesting to see if they can both play in the same team. I think they can. What they bring to a team…the versatility of Dinesh Karthik, he can play at the top of the order, he can, as he has done more so later in his career, be in the middle and late overs to finish. He has a really nice touch game.”