IND vs SA: "I Feel That If India Have That Left-hander Option In The Team, This Team Would Look Complete"- Kapil Dev Wants Rishabh Pant To Replace Dinesh Karthik

The decision to leave Rishabh Pant out of India’s starting lineup for the two T20 World Cup games has been hotly contested. India started with Dinesh Karthik as their wicketkeeper batter against Pakistan and subsequently South Africa, with Pant getting benched.

But given Karthik’s dubious wicket-keeping, former India skipper Kapil Dev thinks Rishabh Pant needs to have a look in ahead of the match against South Africa in Perth on Sunday. 

Karthik, a 37-year-old experienced wicketkeeper, has been on a duty for RCB ever since the IPL 2022 and since the time he made his India comeback has played some remarkable knocks for India, en route to become its designated “finisher” in the team.

Now Is The Time India Need Rishabh Pant: Kapil Dev

Although India can benefit from having a left-hander in the middle order, Karthik gave in to the mounting pressure in the Pakistan game and made a few mistakes while keeping against the Netherlands, which is why Kapil wants DK to be replaced by Rishabh Pant. 

“I want to say that since we have Rishabh Pant, now is the time India need him. It felt as if Dinesh Karthik would get the job done, but factoring in the wicketkeeping as well, I feel that if India have that left-hander option in the team, this team would look complete,” Kapil said on ABP News. 

Kapil Dev Wants KL Rahul To Play Patiently

KL Rahul is another player whose status in India’s starting XI has been questioned. Given Rahul’s two poor performances against Pakistan and the Netherlands, there have even been calls for Pant to take Rahul’s place at the top of the order.

However, Kapil has the Indian opener on his side and advises him to wait till the Powerplay is over before exploding and changing up his strategy.

“He is a very neat cricketer. If you look at his batting, he doesn’t appear to be struggling. He gets out and has in fact, played on twice or thrice. I want him to score runs because it is really important for him to score. Some players are told not to play fast.

He can take time initially because he can easily accelerate as and when needed. I want him to play patiently, play the first 8-10 overs, and then when he gets an idea what total is best on the pitch, then go for it,” mentioned Kapil. 

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