Sunil Gavaskar came up with a solution for Team India’s think-tank on how to accommodate both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the playing XI in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
He believes that Pant and Karthik can both be played in the same playing XI if star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is used as the fifth bowling option in the T20 World Cup 2022, where the Men in Blue will kick start their campaign against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday (October 23).
Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Live': “It's just that maybe, if they decide to go with six bowlers, with Hardik Pandya being the sixth bowler, then he (Pant) may not be able to find a place. But if they decide to go with Hardik Pandya as a fifth bowler, then Rishabh Pant has an opportunity to bat at number six and Karthik maybe at number seven, followed by the four bowlers.”
The legendary batter continued, “So, that could well happen, we just have to wait and see. They would certainly want a left-hander in the middle, but looking at the top four, who are in such good form, you sometimes say to yourself, ‘How many overs Rishabh Pant is going to get in? Is he going to get three or four overs? And for three or four overs, is Karthik or Rishabh better?' So, these are all the situations they will look at and they'll take a call on this.”
Meanwhile, Gavaskar opined that Pakistan’s premier pacer, Shaheen Afridi, looked to have returned to full fitness in the warm-up match against England, where he finished with figures of 2-0-7-0.
The Indian legend said, “I think that's what their main concern was, about his fitness and how he will shape up. And certainly, in the two overs that he bowled, he's shown that he's back to full fitness. So, clearly, that is one headache gone. I think with their catching, they were much better than what we saw against England.”
He signed off by saying, “Their ground fielding was very good. So, these are two aspects that were worrying them and they have shown improvement in those areas. So, I don't think they'll have any doubts when they'll take on India on Sunday.”
(With PTI Inputs)
