“Rishabh Pant Can Add Far More Value”: Ex-BCCI Selector On Team India Opting For Dinesh Karthik In Asia Cup

India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik miraculously turned the tide into his favour this year. Starting from his brilliant performance in IPL 2022 to his remarkable return to the national side, Karthik has been in an unstoppable form. Recently, he even got included in Team India’s Asia Cup squad and also found a place in the Playing XI in the opening game against Pakistan on Sunday. His inclusion blocked the way for the young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, which did not go well with many fans and experts. Former India selector Saba Karim backed Pant and stated that he can “add far more value” than Karthik.

“I was surprised because I do stick to my earlier stand of having Pant in the side in place of Dinesh Karthik because I always felt that we need to look ahead and even now I do believe that Rishabh Pant can add far more value, with due respect to Dinesh Karthik, than Dinesh Karthik. But there can be possible explanations over there about which one can chat,” Saba Karim said on Sports18.

Earlier, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh had supported team management’s decision of playing Dinesh Karthik in the clash against Pakistan.

“Rishabh Pant, no doubt, has done very well even in Test cricket and one-dayers. He has been very good. But in this shortest format, he has not been an accomplished player. However, if you look at Dinesh Karthik, his graph is only going upward. He has performed well. This is the right decision. In this format, in this form, there is no use keeping him on the bench. It’s time for Dinesh Karthik to play, he should play,” Harbhajan had told Aaj Tak.

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“Rishabh Pant is young, he still has plenty of time left. However, Dinesh Karthik has only 1-2 years left and he should make the most of it, the team should also use Karthik’s form and make the most of it. He can win a lot of matches, batting down the order. With Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik batting down the order, I think it’s going to be difficult for most opposition bowlers,” he added.

In the match against Pakistan, Dinesh Karthik took three catches behind the stumps, and with the bat, he just played one ball, in which he took a crucial single to bring Hardik Pandya on strike in the final over, before the all-rounder hit a six on the fourth ball to seal the contest for India.