Indian captain Rohit Sharma is a happy camper after registering yet another bilateral series win for India. The 2-1 win over Australia was a hard fought win after India had lost the first game of the series at Mohali. The final game on Sunday, saw the men in blue register a 6 wicket win in dramatic fashion with one ball to go. India, may have won the T20 series but there are some pressing issues at hand for both captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.
The story as it happened –
There is a huge debate ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, whom the Indian team should play. Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant both have been in the Indian set up this year. Karthik made a comeback to the Indian side post his amazing TATA IPL 2022. Pant, on the other hand hasn’t been able to replicate his 2022 Test and ODI form in the 20 over format.
Karthik’s lack of time with the bat –
Dinesh Karthik got a few chances to bat in the South Africa and West Indies series. His time in the middle though dwindled. DK played just one ball in the Asia Cup game against Pakistan, while getting benched for the rest of the tournament. In the final game against Afghanistan he rarely got a chance to bat. In the recent series against Australia, Mohali was the only time he could get a decent hit and he scored. At Nagpur he played 2 balls to score 10 and played one ball against Australia at Hyderabad.
The sweet taste of victory đź’™
— DK (@DineshKarthik) September 25, 2022
Well played Australia đź‘Ź#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/GES8zOxUtY
Rohit Sharma shows his concern –
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was asked to shed light on the lack of batting for DK. Rohit while speaking to the press said “I wanted both of these guys to have a number of games under their belt before the World Cup. When we went to the Asia Cup both of these guys were in the fray to play all games, But I just feel that Dinesh needs a little more game time. He hardly got to bat (this series). Just maybe three balls. So that’s not enough time”
Rohit breaks his silence on the Pant versus Karthik debate –
The Indian cricket fans have been confused as a certain fans want to see DK play, while the other section wants Pant. The only time the two played together this series was during the Nagpur game, when Pant came in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Speaking about this, Rohit Sharma said “We want to be flexible in our batting. So if the situation or if the thing demands that we need a left-hander, we will bring in a left-hander if we need a right-hander, we will continue to do that”
One final battle against South Africa –
The South Africans are already in India to play 3 T20 and 3 ODI games. The first T20 will be played on Wednesday. This will be a good chance for India to test both Pant and DK during the series. interestingly, Pant was the captain for India, when India played the South Africans post the IPL this year. Speaking about the series, Rohit Sharma said “I don’t know what we’re gonna do against South Africa. We just need to go and see their bowling, what sort of bowling lineup they’ll play with, and who are the best guys for us who can handle that bowling lineup. It all depends on that”