The batting order for the Indian team is more or less settled going into the T20 World Cup 2022 in October, leaving the possibility of one or spots. However, the biggest question remains who will play the role of wicketkeeper batter in the XI- Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik?
The answer to this will be found in the upcoming T20I series against Australia and South Africa.
Meanwhile, former cricketer Wasim Jaffer has made his pick in that matter and has chosen veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik in his Indian playing XI for the first T20I against Australia on Tuesday (September 20).
Jaffer cited Pant’s lean patch in the shortest format as the reason behind him not making the cut. When India faced Pakistan in their opening match of the 2022 Asia Cup, Karthik was picked over the young southpaw.
But with Ravindra Jadeja's injury, Pant remains the lone specialist left-hander in the batting mix.
Jaffer picked Karthik over Pant and all-rounder Akshar Patel in place of Jadeja. There were no surprises in the top order and in the bowling mix, he slotted Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Here is Wasim Jaffer's India playing XI for 1st T20I against Australia:
India Squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Umesh Yadav.
Australia Squad:
Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade (wk), and Adam Zampa.
