"His recent form hasn't been that great" - Danish Kaneria feels Rishabh Pant should have been dropped from India's squad for T20 World Cup
Former cricketer Danish Kaneria recently questioned the Indian selectors for including both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria suggested that Pant should have been left out, given his ordinary form with the bat in T20Is. He highlighted how Karthik might also have to be benched to accommodate the left-hander in the playing XI.
Kaneria mentioned that this could have been avoided by having an extra bowler in the squad instead of two keeper-batters. He also claimed that the Indian team management has made similar mistakes in the past as well, in terms of selection. Kaneria explained:
"India are repeating the same mistakes. Pant has been selected because he has an impressive record in Australia. However, his recent form hasn't been that great in T20 cricket.
"They also have Dinesh Karthik in the squad. But there's no point in having him if he might not get a chance to play. They could have added an extra bowler instead."
Despite their underwhelming Asia Cup 2022 campaign, the Men in Blue haven't made too many changes to their squad. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have returned to the side after recovering from their respective injuries. Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan failed to make the 15-member squad.
"Might not get many games at the T20 World Cup" - Danish Kaneria on India's Ravichandran Ashwin
Kaneria further added that the Indian think should have gone ahead with Bishnoi instead of Ravichandran Ashwin. He pointed out that wrist spinners are likely to have more success than finger spinners on the Australian pitches.
Bishnoi has been named as one of the standby players for the marquee event. However, the 41-year-old opined that Ashwin should have been in the reserves with the young leg spinner making the 15-member squad. He added:
"Ravichandran Ashwin might not get many games at the T20 World Cup as the pitches in Australia are more suited to wrist spinners. They have proved to be more successful on these bouncy tracks.
"This is why I feel that Ravi Bishnoi would have been a better pick than Ashwin. If India did want to travel with Ashwin, they could have named him as a standby."
Ashwin bagged two wickets from as many matches at the Asia Cup 2022. The seasoned campaigner had a fantastic economy rate of 7.37 in the competition. Bishnoi, on the other hand, played just one match and managed to pick up a wicket.