T20 World Cup 2022: "There was a game of musical chairs going on about whether to play Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant" - Kiran More on Team India's wicketkeeper conundrum
Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More reflected on the management's handling of the situation surrounding the keeper-batters. Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik traded places over the course of 2022 in the Indian playing XI, but neither could quite make an impact for the side when it mattered.
The Delhi-born player held the position of first-choice wicketkeeper for a significant while before losing it to Dinesh Karthik, who broke back into the T20I setup on the back of his exceptional finishing ability in IPL 2022.
While Pant came across as the sole left-handed batting option in the squad, his veteran compatriot was preferred ahead of him as he brought more balance into the side.
Group stage done ✅
On to the knockouts ➡️
#INDvsZIM https://t.co/dUoqmlhnUQ
Opining that the management should have made up their minds about their first-choice wicketkeeper well before, More said in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda:
"There was a game of musical chairs going on about whether to play Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant. That means you are not sure about it. When you are going for a competition like the World Cup, you should be sure about your team combination. You should know what particular XI will play on the particular day."
Karthik donned the gloves for the first four matches of Team India's T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. However, the team decided to opt for a different approach in the final group contest by introducing Pant and stuck with the same playing XI for the semi-final encounter against England.
"I felt that both of them were not confident during the World Cup" - Kiran More on Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik
Neither Pant nor Karthik had a memorable campaign across the limited set of matches they played. The Tamil Nadu-born wicketkeeper was run-out in his last match against Bangladesh and recorded a 15-ball six-run knock against South Africa in Perth.
Pant, on the other hand, was surprisingly sent in at No. 6 in the batting order in India's 10-wicket defeat to England at the Adelaide Oval.
Semi-final bound. ✈️🇮🇳 https://t.co/k77LJOZoGt
Suggesting that even the players might have been unclear about their place in the playing XI, More said:
"Winning and losing is a whole different thing, but I did not like seeing what happened with Karthik and Pant. If I am playing one match and the next match I'm not playing, what kind of message am I getting from the coach and the captain?
"I felt that both of them were not confident during the World Cup. Even they were not sure about who will be in the playing XI after waking up."
Karthik's future is uncertain as the BCCI is looking to revamp the entire T20I side for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pant will next be seen in the upcoming tour of New Zealand, where he has been appointed as the vice-captain for the three-match T20I series.
Who should have been Team India's first-choice wicketkeeper? Let us know what you think.