ICC World Cup 2019: Why Rishabh Pant should have been selected ahead of Dinesh Karthik

The Indian squad for the ICC World Cup 2019 was announced on Monday, the 15th April 2019. Though the selection of the team was on expected lines, there were two notable omissions, namely Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant. The selectors have preferred Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik in their place.

While the selection of Vijay Shankar for Rayudu was based on current form, the selection of the second wicket-keeper was a close call. As such, the current squad, though not as formidable as the World Cup-winning squad of 2011, is the best squad within the available resources.

Nonetheless, the selected squad has 3 apparent weaknesses:

# The middle order looks brittle. The No 4 spot, as such, is vacant.

# There are no left-handers in the middle order.

# The squad is short of one fast bowler since there are no genuine contenders in sight.

Though the selectors and the captain were unanimous in their thinking that the performances of the players in IPL were not considered for selection, it is quite clear that a player like KL Rahul made the final cut on the basis of his current form in IPL.

Though there is nothing much to separate Pant and Dinesh Karthik behind the wicket, for the second wicket-keeper’s spot, the selectors should have gone in with Rishabh Pant instead of Dinesh Karthik for the following reasons:

A learning process for Rishabh Pant

Both Dhoni and Karthik won’t be around for the next World Cup in four years time. Had Pant been selected, he could have had a feel of the World Cup mega event. That experience would have served him in good stead during his appearance in the next 50-over World Cup as well as the T20I World Cup. With the selection of Dinesh Karthik, Pant has been deprived of that priceless experience.

Left-hand batting option in the middle order

Batting-wise, both Pant and Karthik have shown ample impatience in 50-over cricket. Both are effective as finishers only when the target is in sight. Otherwise, both lack the temperament of an MS Dhoni to play a long innings to take the team home.

But the one distinct advantage that Pant has over Karthik is the fact that being a left-hand batsman, he could bring in the much-needed variety in the batting order. In the current Indian squad, there is only one left-hander in Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order. Pant could have served that purpose if a middle-order spot turns out to be vacant during the course of the tournament.

Ironically, the selectors have chosen Karthik ahead of Pant for the same reason as a possible contender to fill in the No 4 spot in the batting order which is at present without a designated player.

Historically, right handers in the Indian team have shown a general weakness against left-arm fast bowling of Chaminda Vaas, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc. In recent times, the Australian left-arm fast bowler Jason Behrendorff managed to trouble the right-hand batsmen in the Indian team quite frequently.

This perennial problem of the Indian batsmen could have been countered with a left-hander like Rishabh Pant in the middle order. Besides, compared to Karthik, Pant had a successful Test series in England last year. He could have taken the confidence derived from that tour into the World Cup.

To sum up, the selectors have chosen Dinesh Karthik for the second wicket-keeper’s spot for his experience and his comparatively assured glove work. They could have gone for Rishabh Pant as a long term prospect keeping the future in mind.