Picture Credit: Twitter
India and Pakistan are finally locking horns in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022. India’s captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first. Sharma also announced the playing XI of India for the all-important Pakistan clash. Surprisingly, Rishabh Pant was left out of the playing XI and veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik was picked.
“It was a tough call we had to take between playing Dinesh and Rishabh, Rishabh sadly misses out,” said Sharma while announcing the playing XI. This decision from the Indian team management triggered reactions from all around the corner. While the fans called it a ‘blunder’, former India opener Gautam Gambhir also shared his views on this decision.
Gambhir said he was surprised to not see Pant in the Indian playing XI and reckoned it’s always Rishabh Pant ahead of Dinesh Karthik. While commentating during the game, Gambhir said that “It was a massive surprise to not see Rishabh Pant in the playing XI”. He further stated that “Unless it’s a niggle, it’s always going to be Rishabh Pant. Considering his form in the last few months in international cricket, it’s definitely Pant ahead of Karthik”.
Gambhir also talked about this decision during the pre-match show. "I won't experiment from now on because how many games do we have… this Asia Cup? And then you've got what… five more games, six more games and then the World Cup. From now on, you want a settled Playing XI. Yes, you can have your backups as well but that is the way I would have wanted. It is a bit of a surprise because Rishabh Pant has been an X-factor," Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Harsha Bhogle reacts!
Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle also reacted to this decision from the Indian team management and reckoned that this is an indication of what players will play at the T20 World Cup. “Leaving out Rishabh Pant is a huge call and a sign towards the favoured line-up at the T20 World Cup. It is also an acknowledgement of how India want to play with DK as a power finisher. Don't be surprised to see Jadeja at no 5 today, though,” tweeted Bhogle.
Notably, Pant has been in phenomenal form lately. His latest heroics was against England when the left-handed batter scored his maiden ODI ton which also helped India claim the three-match series 2-1. Pant has got phenomenal numbers in T20 cricket. The 24-year-old has scored over 4000 runs in 167 T20s and averages 32.19. His strike rate is also 145.34.
