HomeCricket NewsWill Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant Play Together in Semi-Final Against England?

Will Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant Play Together in Semi-Final Against England?

IND vs ENG Semis Match

IND vs ENG Semis Match: The wicketkeeper chaos for India is not going to end anytime soon. Even after reaching the semi-final of the T20 World Cup by playing 5 games, still the team cannot figure out who is the best choice wicketkeeper batter for the side.

And it’s quite evident, as when they gave Karthik a chance he failed to perform and when Pant was included in the side he also missed the opportunity.

However, in midst of all India reached the semis, and now they have to play England on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval. With 10 players almost confirmed for India for the big game, the final spot of the wicketkeeper is still vacant. Both candidates are in a race to grab that spot, as usual. But, the big question is will they both play together in the semi-final game against England?

Team India captain Rohit Sharma provided an update to clear this air. Sharma said that both of these wicketkeepers are up for selection.

IND vs ENG Semis Match: What Rohit said on Karthik and Pant’s selection? 

“Between DK and Pant, I had just during the last game as well, Pant was the only guy who did not get to play on this tour at all except the two games we played at Perth. They were unofficial practice games but since then he has not had a hit. He was missing game-time, so we wanted to give him time and have some options as well if we want to make changes in the semi-final or final,” said Rohit during a pre-match press conference.

“It will be unfair to bring a guy out of nowhere and make him play the game, so that was the thought. But again, we have told the guys that everyone needs to be ready for whichever game they play, whether it is the semis or league games. It was a little tactical as well considering we did not know which team we would play in semi-final before that Zimbabwe game. We wanted to make sure to give the left-hander an opportunity to counter those spinners who bowl in the middle. But again, what is going to happen tomorrow, I cannot tell you know but both of those keepers will be in play for selection,” he added.

IND vs ENG semis match: Karthik and Pant’s performance in T20 World Cup 2022

Dinesh Karthik was part of the team in the first 3 games, but he suffered an injury during the 15th over of second innings in the South Africa, and Rishabh kept the wickets in place of him for the last five overs.

And it was quite evident that Pant will play in place of Karthik in November 2 clash versus Bangladesh, but Karthik retained full fitness before the game and got featured in that match too.

Playing over Pant, the 37-year-old faced a dull tournament so far with the bat, as the veteran only managed to score 2 runs in team India’s first match against Pakistan and got out. He won’t get the chance to bat against Netherlands, and in third game when the side needed his contribution in South Africa’s clash when team were at 49 for 5, he only managed to add 6 off 15. While the veteran got run-our on 7 in his next game.

Rishabh Pant then finally got the chance to play in team India’s last group match, but he failed to perform and scored only 3 runs.

With 8 points in 5 games, the men in blue qualified for the semis as the table-toppers of group 2 and will face England in the semi-final game of ICC T20 World Cup (IND vs ENG semis match) on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.

 

 

Vineet Vashisht
Vineet Vashisht
Experienced News-writer and presenter with a demonstrated history of working in the sports industry.

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