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Hardik has often been criticised for not having played a role of an all-rounder when the team needed him the most. But since he made his comeback from injury to the national side in June this year, bowling again at full tilt, Hardik has emerged as a serious match-winner with both bat and ball ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. For many, he is the most valuable player in the Indian team currently.
DUBAI : Hardik Pandya's talent was never in doubt and the India all-rounder has now combined a calm mind with an uncluttered approach to emerge as a serious match-winner as he demonstrated in Sunday's Asia Cup thriller against Pakistan.
Team management finds utility of 'Finisher Karthik' more valuable as India continue to experiment in run-up to T20 World CupDUBAI: An interesting thing happened during the team huddle before India started with their warm-ups, around an hour before the match against Pakistan here on Sunday. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, the oldest player in the team, was asked to address the team first. Former captain Virat Kohli followed with a few words before incumbent skipper Rohit Sharma finished the pep-talk session, which was moderated by head coach Rahul Dravid. Dravid had joined the team in the early hours of Sunday, flowing in late after having recovered from Covid-19. Thirty minutes later, Rohit announced at the toss that Karthik had been preferred ahead of Rishabh Pant, the more regular stumper and current toast of Indian cricket. The decision came as a surprise to many.
Over the last few months, Rohit Sharma has risen up the ranks in Indian cricket to be the skipper in all three formats. However, there was a time when the veteran batter was considered only for the limited overs formats. Despite repeated opportunities, he could not find consistency in the longest formats until 2019, when he was made an opener in Tests too. From then there has been no looking back for Rohit. Currently, the 35-year-old Rohit averages over 46 in Tests after playing 45 matches.
Ravi Shastri used to push players to achieve special things but he had very little tolerance for failure during his stint as India's head coach, said veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik. The 37-year-old had played sporadically during Shastri's tenure as India coach, especially during the 2019 World Cup. The Shastri-Kohli tenure was a good one for Indian cricket but often the duo was criticised for not standing by a few players, who probably needed a bit more empathy during their lean patch.
The T20 World Cup is just around the corner and the team management must be sweating on who to pick and who to leave out. Team India have managed to create a solid pool, and in order to manage the workload of senior players, several youngsters have gotten the chance to prove themselves. However, Dinesh Karthik's story is completely different. He made a comeback into the national side on the back of strong performances in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Dinesh Karthik's resurgence as a dependable T20 player has been nothing short of being inspirational. With consistent performances for his IPL franchise and the Indian cricket team, the veteran player is now a front-runner to be selected for the T20 World Cup. Karthik features prominently in India's 15-member Asia Cup squad. His performance as a backup wicketkeeper and a finisher will be closely watched in the days ahead. However, former Indian cricket team captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth, while lauding Karthik's recent performances, has said the "actual finishers" in the side are someone else.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was instrumental in India's victory against the West Indies in the first T20 international here, said his ultimate aim is to lift the upcoming T20 World Cup title in Australia. Karthik, with his breezy unbeaten innings of 41 off just 19 deliveries at the Brian Lara Stadium, performed the finisher's job brilliantly once again and took India to a solid 190 for six, after the visitors batted first. The innings turned out to be extremely crucial.