ICC T20 World Cup 2022: "The No. 5 Position Is Between Rishabh Pant And Deepak Hooda": Robin Uthappa On India's Middle-Order Dilemma
Published - 10 Sep 2022, 01:05 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:12 AM
Veteran batsman Robin Uthappa feels Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda will compete for the No. 5 berth in India’s starting XI ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, which will take place in Australia later this year.
Following defeats over Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2022, the Men in Blue’s middle order came under fire. Pant and Hooda both pretended to lie as India was eliminated from the continental competition.
Robin Uthappa believes that Hooda and Pant will be battling it out for the No. 5 place while the Indian thought tank works to finalize their middle-order combinations for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia and South Africa. He said this on ESPNCricinfo:
“I would say the No. 5 spot is between Rishabh and Hooda, but Hooda is currently batting better and he can offer you something with the ball, as he did today. It only took him one ball to demonstrate that he can contribute with the ball, so I would say Hooda is the clear favorite.”
“India has won 16 of the 18 matches he has featured in since beginning to play for the country. He has only dropped two games, and those are the most recent two contests.”
Karthik should be on the plane to Australia: Robin Uthappa
Dinesh Karthik returned to the Indian team with a vengeance following a successful IPL 2022 season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He smashed 330 runs at a strike rate of over 180.
Since then, the cricketer from Tamil Nadu has used the willow to make some significant contributions. He has, however, been in and out of the starting lineup, raising doubts about his status for the T20 World Cup team.
Robin Uthappa expressed his opinion on the matter, stating that Karthik should unquestionably travel to Australia:
“I think anything less than that will be considered a brain fade.”
Karthik was dropped from India’s playing XI for the Super 4 games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with Pant featuring in both games.
