Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Ravi Shastri opens up on selecting between Kishan, Karthik for Team India: 'I will go with current form, conditions'
IPL 2022: The former India head coach opened up on the criteria for selecting one of Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik for Team India.
The 2022 Indian Premier League saw the re-emergence of veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who took the tournament by storm with his incredible power-hitting in death overs. Karthik has played with a strike rate of 200 in the season so far, boasting of an incredible average of 105 - he has remained unbeaten in six of the eight innings he has played. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)
Justifiably, many fans and former cricketers alike have vouched for Karthik's name to be considered for selection in the Indian team – not only for the upcoming T20 series but also for the T20 World Cup, that is scheduled to take place in Australia later this year. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter last played for the country in 2019 during the ODI World Cup.
Over the past few months, another Indian wicketkeeper-batter – Ishan Kishan – has also earned consistent national call-ups. However, the youngster has struggled with form of late and has remained fairly inconsistent for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing season of the IPL as well.
And so, when Ravi Shastri was asked whether he would consider Kishan's contributions to India or rather prioritize the current form of both keepers as a benchmark for selection in the national team, the former head coach chose the latter.
“I will go with the current form and the conditions where we will be playing. The kind of shots that can be played, experience coming into play, and fitness of the player. He (Karthik) is as fit as anyone around!” Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.
Rishabh Pant has been the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter for India across all formats of the game. Moreover, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya stepping up in the ongoing IPL season, it is going to be a tough competition for the finisher's spot in the Indian XI.
