India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has opined on whether India should pick Ishan Kishan or Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper in the playing XI for their T20 World cup 2021 opener against archrivals Pakistan to be played in Dubai on October 24.
Both the players-Kishan and Pant- are products from the 2016 U19 batch which had reached the final of the Youth World Cup that year in Bangladesh when Kishan was captain. While Pant had a running start to his international career thanks to explosive outings in the Indian Premier League and amazing results in Tests for India.
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Kishan, on the other hand, made his India debut in both the limited-overs formats against England earlier this year and has impressed one and all with his ability to take the game away in a matter of overs.
Karthik however, felt that if India was to pick Ishan Kishan in the playing XI over Rishabh Pant, he has to open the innings as there is no other spot for him in the XI.
“If Ishan [Kishan] plays, he has to open. There is no other spot for him in this batting order. I am saying that because the reason he was dropped from Mumbai Indians was that he was batting at No.4. I don't think he enjoys batting in the middle-order as much as he likes opening,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
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“It's a different feeling when you cross the powerplay and play the spinners than when you walk out and see seven fielders outside. It's a different ball game altogether. Definitely, Rishabh Pant is a better batsman than Ishan Kishan at No.5,” he added.
Speaking on intense India vs Pakistan bout at the T20 World Cup, Karthik insisted that Kohli & co. have an upper hand over their arch-rivals.
"I am very very confident that India will have a fabulous day tomorrow. India obviously has a more talented team and they have been in UAE for a longer time. They have the upper hand and they are very solid, well-oiled team. If they play to their potential, they will dominate it, even if they don't, they will scrap victory tomorrow," Karthik signed off.
