T20 World Cup 2022: “Team will look more potent” – Saba Karim wants Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik to unleash themselves ahead of semifinals
With one match left for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup semifinals, former Indian selector Saba Karim has expressed concern about Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s form. He also talked about the doubtful finishing abilities of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik.
Karthik failed to live up to expectations, while Hardik and Rohit only delivered with the bat against Pakistan (40 off 37 balls) and the Netherlands (53 off 39 deliveries), respectively. All of these players departed for a single-digit score against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Karim feels that the trio must score runs against Zimbabwe to gain much-needed confidence ahead of the knockout matches.
Speaking to India News, the former Indian cricketer said:
“43:53 – If Rohit Sharma scores some runs, it will be good for India. KL Rahul’s comeback is a good sign. If Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik start to contribute, the team will look more potent.”
Meanwhile, India vice-captain KL Rahul finally found form with a 32-ball fifty against Bangladesh after three consecutive failures in the showpiece T20 event.
K L Rahul's performance has kept the spotlight off how woeful Rohit Sharma has been playing.
Rohit Sharma: 74 runs in 4 inns
Hardik Pandya: 47 runs in 3 inns
Dinesh Karthik: 14 runs in 3 inns
KL Rahul: 82 runs in 4 inns
“His consistency is benefiting team India a lot” – Saba Karim commends Suryakumar Yadav’s heroics at T20 World Cup
Karim also praised Suryakumar Yadav for his impactful knocks in the T20 World Cup, which are working in favor of the Men in Blue.
The World No.1 T20I batter scored 30 off 16 balls against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Earlier, he scored a vital 68 off 40 balls against South Africa, where other Indian batters failed to deliver. He also slammed a 25-ball 51* against the Netherlands.
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓. 𝐀. 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑.🇮🇳💪
📸: @ICC https://t.co/7La9Ow6rbd
Karim said:
“48:10 – Suryakumar Yadav has decided to play with the same strike throughout his innings. He starts playing his shots after one or two balls, and he picks his area before playing his shots. It’s not easy to play such impactful innings in the middle order. His consistency is benefitting team India a lot.”
Suryakumar only needs 35 runs to complete 1000 runs in T20Is this year. He will be seen in action against Zimbabwe in Melbourne on Sunday (November 6). A win would take Team India into the T20 World Cup semifinals.