DK in the IPL was not seen by fans in the Indian jersey, the finisher is the loser in the numbers
Mumbai, First Published Aug 9, 2022, 12:15 PM IST
Mumbai: The protest against the exclusion of Sanju Samson from the Indian team for the Asia Cup cricket tournament (Asia Cup 2022) is getting stronger. A wicket-keeper batsman who has been included in the squad is Rishabh Pant, who has been asked by many to be excluded from the T20 format. Sanju, the Indian wicketkeeper with the best strike rate and batting average in the international T20 this year, was removed when DK (Dinesh Karthik), who was named as a finisher in the fifteenth season of the IPL, but only fired the bat occasionally after that, was placed in the squad.
Although he made his T20 debut against South Africa in 2006, fans are now watching Dinesh Kart’s second innings. Dinesh Karthik rejoined the Indian team in that role after being named as the finisher in the last IPL. But the fact that DK’s bat has flashed the IPL model only once in the last 10 T20Is was overlooked by the selectors during the Asia Cup team selection. Dinesh Karthik’s scores from 1st T20I vs Ireland to 5th T20I vs West Indies were 5(4 balls), 0(1), 11(7), 12(17), 6(7), 41(19), 7(13), 0( 0), 6(9) and 12(9). Still, India gave Dinesh Karthik a chance regardless of Sanju.
Even if it is argued that Sanju was not given a chance because he is a top-order/middle-order batsman, the selectors may not be able to justify giving DK a chance with numbers. Despite being hailed as a great finisher, Dinesh Karthik has a strike rate of 133.33 and an average of 21.33 in T20 Internationals this year. DK did not perform well for Team India in the role of finisher. Rishabh Pant’s situation in T20 2022 is no different. Meanwhile, Sanju has a strike rate of 158.40 and a batting average of 44.75 in T20 Internationals this year.
The Indian senior selectors announced the squad for the Asia Cup cricket tournament yesterday. While Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan were not featured as wicketkeeper batsmen, India gave Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant a chance. While Virat Kohli and KL Rahul returned to the squad after rest, injured pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not considered for the Asia Cup. Rohit Sharma himself will lead India in the Asia Cup. Rahul will continue as vice-captain. Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Josh Khan also made it to the squad. Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel were included as standby stars, but Sanju was not considered, which led to huge fan outcry.
Keman Sanju over Rishabh, DK and Ishaan, still out; Fans are protesting with numbers
Last Updated Aug 9, 2022, 12:25 PM IST
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