Would pick Dinesh Karthik & Rishabh Pant ahead of Ishan Kishan for T20 World Cup: Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting said that he is well aware of his strengths, but he feels Karthik also deserved a place in the squad.
Former Australia captain and legend Ricky Ponting reckons that team India should pick both Rishabh pant and Dinesh Karthik for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022, scheduled to be played in Australia in October.
Rishabh Pant, in the third and final ODI against England whacked a sensational century to guide his team to a comprehensive win and seal the three-match series.
The 24-year old also slammed a century in the one-off Test in Edgbaston, which ended in a draw. However, it is Pant’s T20I numbers which has always kept him under the scanner in the shortest format.
Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand returned to team India this year after a phenomenal IPL season with Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 37-year-old scored 330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33. The veteran wicket keeper also performed well in the South Africa T20Is to justify his spot in the team.
Speaking on the same, Ponting, who has coached Pant at Delhi Capitals, said he is absolutely aware of what the Indian keeper is capable of in the T20 format.
“We have seen what Rishabh is capable of in 50-over cricket, and I know absolutely what he is capable of in the T20 game. Dinesh Karthik has had his best IPL ever just very recently… and I would be trying to find every way to have both of those guys in my team,” Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
The Australian great further added that team India can make the left-hander bat in the middle order alongside Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya to make their line up destructive.
“Rishabh to bat, in that three-four-five range, and have Dinesh and maybe Hardik Pandya… if you have those guys finishing for you, well that batting line-up looks very, very dangerous,” he added.
Ponting also feels that with Pant and Karthik in the side, Ishan Kishan might miss out on the wicketkeeper-batter spot in the team, but he added that Suryakumar Yadav, who recently hit a century against England, might get a chance given his current form in the T20I.
“Obviously that means someone like (Ishan) Kishan or Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) or (Shreyas) Iyer, someone like that, might miss out and I don’t think Surya will miss out given his current form.”
