"If Virat Kohli is not around, Rahul Tripathi should be the first choice" - Dinesh Karthik on India's No. 3 in T20Is
Dinesh Karthik believes that Team India should persist with Rahul Tripathi as their No. 3 in T20Is unless senior batter Virat Kohli makes his return to the side.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Karthik noted that the Men in Blue must have someone like Tripathi on their side in major ICC events.
He lauded the right-handed batter for his selfless attitude while underlining the importance of giving him a long rope going forward.
Speaking about Tripathi's impactful performances, Karthik explained:
"Rahul Tripathi deserves that No.3 spot in the Indian team whenever that comes. If Virat Kohli chooses to play, it's okay. If Kohli is not around, Tripathi should be the first choice and not somebody else who has done well somewhere else. He is a very good player and is doing something very selfless, something that India need going into ICC tournaments."
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Rahul Tripathi departs after a spectacular knock 🔥🫡
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Notably, Tripathi has emerged as India's intent merchant in the shortest format lately.
While he struggled to get going in the first two matches of the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, he made amends in the third and final contest.
The dynamic batter took the Kiwi bowlers to the cleaners, mustering 44 runs off 22 balls during the T20I series decider in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1.
"We shouldn't forget that" - Dinesh Karthik on Rahul Tripathi's intent
Dinesh Karthik further went on to say that there is a chance that Rahul Tripathi may be overlooked in favor of others, given that he has just cameos to his name.
He, however, emphasized that one must not forget the impact that Tripathi was able to make during his appearances. Karthik praised the batter for attacking right from the start, despite knowing that his career was at stake.
The veteran keeper-batter added:
"The names replacing Rahul Tripathi will be big at some point in time. So we might just look at the scores and say he just scored the 30s and 40s. Let's be very, very aware of the situation he's done it in and the intent and context of every time he's walked in."
He concluded:
"Knowing that his career was on the line, but still took the aggressive option and the big shot option because his team needed him to do that. We shouldn't forget that."
Tripathi has appeared in just five T20I matches so far in his career. He has 97 runs to his name at an impressive strike rate of 144.8. He has been a consistent performer in the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 1798 runs in 74 innings.