India vs Australia 2019: 4 Reasons why Dinesh Karthik could have been dropped from the ODI squad
BCCI has announced the Indian squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Australia. The Australian team will be touring India for a 2 match T20I series followed by a 5 match ODI series and the Indian squad for the ODI series is as follows -
India’s squad for ODI series against Australia: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MSD (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohamed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, Siddharth Kaul, KL Rahul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
(Siddarth Kaul will be a part of the Indian squad in the first 2 ODIs and will be replaced by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the final 3 ODIs)
The selectors have made a lot of changes in the squad that played the ODI series in New Zealand. One notable name missing from the squad is Dinesh Karthik.
Here are the 4 possible reasons behind Dinesh Karthik's exclusion from the Indian ODI squad.
#4 Ravi Shastri wants KL Rahul to bat at #3
In an interview with Cricbuzz, the Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri had stated that he had a masterplan for Virat Kohli heading into the ICC World Cup 2019. In a bid to protect the under-fire Indian middle order, Shastri wants Kohli to bat at no.4 in the mega-event.
Shastri revealed, "The good thing about this Indian top-three is we can separate them, if conditions and situations demand. Someone like Virat Kohli can go to number four, and we can put a good number three to bring more balance to the batting line-up. That's flexibility for you, and for big tournaments like the World Cup, you have to be flexible to see what's the best balance for the side."
Dinesh Karthik is definitely not a good choice to bat at no.3 and given that there are very few ODIs left for India ahead of the World Cup, they might want to experiment KL Rahul batting at no.3, followed by Kohli at no.4.
And, looking at the other alternatives in the squad, all players can prove to be a good option for no.3 except Dinesh Karthik, who loves to bat down the order.