"Rotation policy in India is a double-edged sword" – Dinesh Karthik
Despite the talent pool present in Indian cricket circles, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has his own doubts surrounding the rotation policy's efficiency when applied to Indian cricket.
The Indian stumper, who recently led Tamil Nadu to the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali title, shared his views on the rotation policy.
In an exclusive interview with Indranil Basu on SK Live, the 35-year-old stated -
"In India, rotation is a double-edged sword unless you are of the quality of Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. Sometimes players have been rotated and they have ended up losing their place. Not everyone would be convinced about getting rotated. The competition for places in India makes rotation a double-edged sword."
The rotation policy was in focus as recently as during the 2nd India v England Test in Chennai, with seamer Jasprit Bumrah rested for 'workload management'. In his place, India opted to field Mohammed Siraj, and the Hyderabad-born pacer picked up 1 wicket from the eight overs he bowled during the match.
Credit to England if they continue to deliver despite rotation policy: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik called the bubble-life during the COVID-19 times' different' and narrowed down England's choice of using the rotation policy to keep their players' mental health at the forefront.
James Anderson and Dom Bess played critical roles during England's victory in the first Chennai Test, however, both the bowlers were rested for the second match of the four-match series.
Though the reasons seem right, Dinesh Karthik reckons that England will be judged by the results and only time will tell if they have made the right decision or not.
"England cricket has made a very conscious choice of taking the mental health of their players and the toll it takes on their bodies. What you go through in the bubble is very different from what it used to be, so they are giving their players an extra cushion. Only time will tell if they have made the right decision.
"A lot of people will judge by the results, but England as a cricketing nation would like to think that they are a very process-driven nation and they know exactly what they are doing. Credit to them if they continue to deliver despite this. They will be judged by the results and are aware of it," added Dinesh Karthik, who has played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India between 2004 and 2019.
Dinesh Karthik's full interview
While Moeen Ali had a decent outing with the ball (8 wickets in the match) and contributed with the bat too, Broad did not have much of a chance to impress. The England pacer bowled only 20 overs across both the Indian innings, and two edges that he produced were also grassed, one each by Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes.
With India and England shifting base to Ahmedabad for the Pink-Ball Test, England will probably look to re-visit their rotation policy and strengthen their playing XI for a shot at picking up an important win.