Former India wicketkeeper batter, Saba Karim reckons that the selectors need to pick either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik, and once one player is decided, it would be easier for them to include Suryakumar Yadav at No.4.Since his comeback to T20I cricket in June, Karthik has been bringing out the required finishing acts and effectively sealing the place of a finisher in Team India.
A 27-ball 55 on a tough pitch against South Africa at Rajkot and followed it up with an unbeaten 19-ball 41 on a tricky pitch against West Indies at Trinidad have been some examples of Karthik’s ability to finish games consistently.
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On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has witnessed a mixed run apart from being tried as an opener twice against England. Since the T20I series against South Africa in June, where he was the stand-in skipper, Pant’s highest score has been 44 in the fourth T20I against West Indies at Lauderhill, USA.
Describing the same during a chat with Sports, Saba Karim said, “Yes, you better need to sort it out as soon as possible. But you know what, to fix the No. 4 slot or the number four position for a specific player, we need to get the combination and balance of the sides correct. When I say this I mean they need to pick between Dinesh Kartik or Rishabh Pant. Once you decide on either of these players, it’ll be easy to sort in Suryakumar Yadav at number four.”
Saba Karim also feels that India might be better served to go with five bowlers and Hardik Pandya as their sixth option.
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Saba Karim explained, “I feel that to get the balance right, India has done well with five bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as a 6-bowling option. So would you like to break that kind of a combination and get in another bat at number 7, that is Dinesh Karthik at number 7? That means that you go in with Hardik Pandya, the fifth bowler who is expected to bowl 4 overs, so that is another big call from the Indian team management.”
