Irfan Pathan, the former Indian pacer while naming the batting order of his playing XI went in for Dinesh Karthik instead of Rishabh Pant because of his role as a finisher.
The two wicketkeeper batsmen that have been selected in the 15-member squad for the T20I World Cup 2022 are Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik, and it is more than likely that only one of the two can find a place in the starting XI. Irfan Pathan predicts who will find a place.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selected the 15-member squad for the T20I World Cup 2022. There were no surprises in the squad, with the biggest plus point being the returns of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel due to injury.
“See, in my opinion, if you’re playing the first match, you need to have some experienced bowlers including one spinner. So, from the top, my playing 11 would be – Rohit, KL Rahul, number three – Virat (Kohli), number four – Suryakumar Yadav, number five – Deepak Hooda, number six – Hardik Pandya, number seven – Dinesh Karthik, number eight will be a right arm leg spinner so it would be (Yuzvendra) Chahal, 9 to 11, where there will be Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel and along with that you can go for Bhuvneshwar Kumar,” Irfan Pathan said.
Dinesh Karthik was one of the best batsmen in IPL 2022 and his stunning performances helped him revive his international career. Dinesh Karthik had not played for India since 2019 and his career in international cricket was looking as good as over.
However, his performance in IPL 2022 has completely changed his fortunes. In 16 IPL 2022 games for Royal Challengers Bangalore-RCB, he smashed 330 runs at an astonishing average of 55 and a brilliant strike rate of more than 183.
Against West Indies in the 1st T20I in the Caribbean tour, he smashed an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls to help India post 190 and win the game by 68 runs. Prior to that, he had scored 55 of 27 balls in the 4th T20I against Proteas in the home series. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has amassed 934 runs in 58 T20Is at a strike rate of 126.22 at a mediocre average of 23.95.
Irfan Pathan also reckoned that he can accommodate Arshdeep Singh too into the playing XI.
“So, there will be a combination here, three fast bowlers out of which two are quality fast bowlers, who will be able to bowl at the death as well.
“And I will make sure that I have the combination and the liberty to choose from the three fast bowlers, even Arshdeep (Singh) to handle the death bowling So, in my opinion, in the playing 11, the spinner is clear, it’s just whether I can make space for Arshdeep in the team,” he added.
Arshdeep Singh, the young Indian pacer became one of the major highlights of Asia Cup 2022, for both right and wrong reasons.
The Punjab bowler, who made his international debut in the T20I against England this year, has played 11 T20I matches and scalped 14 wickets so far averaging 20.14. Arshdeep Singh was the hot topic in the media after his dropped catch in the blockbuster Asia cup 2022 Super 4 clash against Pakistan.
Irfan Pathan’s XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.