The Asia Cup 2022 will start today with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan facing each other in the tournament opener at the Dubai International Stadium, UAE; however, fans are more excited for tomorrow’s match which will be played between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan. Speculations regarding the team composition are being made by the former cricketers and cricket fans but the big question is whether India will play Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik in tomorrow’s match.
It is quite obvious that Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will be the top three and apart from them, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will also be a part of the team. As far as the spin department is concerned, the team will most probably choose between Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin plus the squad will certainly play three pacers, after which only one position will be left for wicketkeeper-batsman.
The former Indian cricketer Saba Karim has picked his ideal Indian XI for the intense battle between India and Pakistan and during an interview, he has made it clear that his top three will be Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli plus Suryakumar Yadav has also found a place in his team. Saba Karim says that SKY is a floater who can be promoted up the order if the openers play till 7th or 8th over and he can also be sent lower the order because he is a multi-dimensional player who can give value at whatever number he bats.
Saba Karim prefers Yuzvendra Chahal over Ravichandran Ashwin and says that he won’t be in the favor of playing R Ashwin until and unless there are a good number of left-handed batsmen in the opposition. The pacers who are selected by Saba Karim are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. He further says that he wants to play five wicket-taking bowlers because of which he will certainly include Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya’s inclusion will give him sixth bowling option. This leaves him with only one place for wicketkeeper-batsman and he prefers to go with Rishabh Pant over Dinesh Karthik.
While Rishabh Pant has played some really good innings in the recent past, his performance in T20s has not been up to the mark but Saba Karim feels that Pant has the X factor and he will surely play some really good innings in the Asia Cup 2022. On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik has forced the selectors to choose him by playing some really great knocks in the IPL 2022 for his team Royal Challengers Bangalore and he also played well whenever he got the chance after getting selected in the Indian team.
Who is your pick for India vs Pak battle – Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant? Do let us know.