India surprised everyone by going with veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant for the much-anticipated Asia Cup 2022 match against Pakistan on Sunday (August 28) in Dubai.
However, Pant’s absence wasn’t felt much by the Indian team, as Hardik Pandya played fantastically to take the side over the line with two balls to spare to kick start their Asia Cup 2022 with a five-wicket win over the arch-rivals in Dubai on Sunday.
Well, many questioned India’s move to bench Pant for Karthik, and former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir was among them. The former cricketer-turned-politician was really surprised by the decision.
Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports: “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.”
The commentator continued, “You need a left-handed in the middle order. India has a lot of right-handers there, which is one-dimensional. And he has done reasonably well. He can be someone who can open the game for you and he can be a floater as well. A bit surprising but I hope it is not long-term. I will still back Rishabh Pant ahead of Dinesh Karthik. It’s a massive surprise.”
Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram also expressed surprise over India’s bold decision while hailing Pant as the future of Indian cricket.
Akram said on Star Sports: “I agree with him. That is a big call. He is one of the most phenomenal players, a modern top player. The way he bats, he is the future of Indian cricket. He is the future. Obviously, the T20 World Cup is coming up but they have different planning.”
