The man who emerged as the most destructive batter of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), Dinesh Karthik, while playing the finisher’s role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) smashed 330 runs in 16 games at an astounding strike rate of 183.33.

Courtesy of this performance, Karthik at the age of 36 made a comeback to the Indian team for the home T20I series against South Africa in June.

He has since continued to impress everyone with his sublime batting in the slog overs. But with just a few days until the Asia Cup 2022, the Indian team will be at full strength with the return of players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul. In this situation, concerns over Karthik's place in the playing XI are raised.

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believed that Rishabh Pant’s exclusion from the starting XI is the only way for the veteran batter to make the cut.

"I will tell you why - because hypothetically Rohit and Rahul, then Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and four bowlers. How will you play Dinesh Karthik?", he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"An even bigger question will be - Will Dinesh Karthik continue as a finisher or will Rishabh Pant play and Karthik will be left out? You might be thinking why am I talking about that," he added.

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According to Chopra, the top 6 will include players like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Rishabh Pant. 

"So that is my big question that all our dress rehearsals for Dinesh Karthik have been done as a finisher but who will go out if you want to play him as a finisher - Rohit, Rahul, Virat, SKY, Hardik and sixth is Pant. Can Pant and Dinesh Karthik play together, you will come to know in this tournament what the team is thinking," he remarked.

On August 28, The Men in Blue will play Pakistan in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2022.

(Times Now inputs)