India's top-order stuck to its old safety first approach against Pakistan, which put up a quality show even without Shaheen Shah Afridi on Sunday (August 28). But India eventually claimed a hard-earned victory over Pakistan in the last over thriller, scripted by Hardik Pandya. The flamboyant all-rounder produced a special all-round effort as India held nerves to pull off an exciting five-wicket win over their arch-rivals. A week later, fans are set to witness another Indo-Pak contest as both teams face in the ‘Super 4’ round of the Asia Cup 2022. (IND vs SL, Asia Cup 2022 Live Blog)
At present, India's top-3 comprises KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. They are followed by the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, leaving space for only one player among Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. Pant was omitted from the previous game against Pakistan as team management preferred the experienced glovesman in Karthik over the maverick left-hander.
Pant returned to the eleven against Hong Kong but didn't get a chance to bat. It won't be easy for Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid to make a choice, given Karthik's exploits in recent times.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to number four to keep the left-right combination going in the top six. But him being ruled out of the competition could have India playing both Pant and Karthik in the Pakistan tie on Sunday (September 4).
{{/usCountry}}All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to number four to keep the left-right combination going in the top six. But him being ruled out of the competition could have India playing both Pant and Karthik in the Pakistan tie on Sunday (September 4).
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan legend Waqar Younis believes "dangerous" Pant needs to be a part of the top-order, especially with field restrictions in place. The stumper also opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit in the England T20Is in July.
"This is a luxury. Aapke bench pe jo ladka baitha hua hai... hum sab baatein karenge ke woh khel kyu nai raha? That's a big plus for India. Jis tareeke se Pant khelta hai, it's amazing to watch from the commentary box. Even viewers love the way he plays. I feel he should be a part of the top-4. During field restrictions, I don't see a more dangerous batter than him," Younis told sports journalist Vimal Kumar in an interaction hosted by OneCricket.
Dravid on Saturday said that Pant isn't the first-choice keeper as there won't be any pecking order for him and Karthik, as the eleven is chosen based on many factors.
"There's no first-choice wicketkeeper in the side... We play according to the conditions, situation, opposition and what we feel is the best XI. "There's no such a thing as first choice playing XI for every single condition. That will vary. On that day against Pakistan, we felt Dinesh was the right choice for us," said Dravid during a presser.
"It's very difficult to leave out anyone, but we are focused on picking the best XI. We have a little bit of squad culture in our side who believe that we have a very good squad of XV and anyone can play," he added.