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Dinesh Karthik was shockingly left out of India's playing XI for their Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 fixture against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, September 4.
The Men in Green humbled Rohit Sharma and Co. by five wickets to inch one step closer to the final. Batting first, India posted 181-7, riding on Virat Kohli's 60 off 44 balls.
In response, Pakistan timed their run chase to perfection, winning the game with just one ball to spare. Mohammad Rizwan was the top-scorer with a well-complied 71 off 51 deliveries, but it was Mohammad Nawaz who stole the show with the bat. Promoted to bat at No. 4 to negate India's leg-spinners, the southpaw smashed 42 off just 20 deliveries to tilt the game in his side's favor.
Following the loss, India's team selection against Pakistan raised a few eyebrows. While Ravindra Jadeja and Avesh Khan were out injured, the think tank left out veteran wicketkeeper-batter Karthik while retaining Rishabh Pant in the playing 11.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why Karthik should have played the game.
#3 Karthik has been in good form with the bat
Karthik stormed back into the Indian side on the back of a good IPL 2022 campaign for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He smashed 330 runs at a strike rate of over 180.
The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer replicated his form for the Men in Blue and made some telling contributions with the willow.
Rohit Sharma and Co. lacked an in-form batter against Pakistan. While Pant has struggled for form, Deepak Hooda looked a bit rusty after warming the bench for the last few games.
#2 India broke their settled combination
The Men in Blue surprised many fans by picking Karthik ahead of Pant in their Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on August 28.
The veteran keeper-batter didn't get to bat much (one* off one. However, he was swift behind the wickets, taking three catches.
The Indian team looked in place in that game, with players aware of their roles. But that wasn't the case on Sunday. The change in personnel and shuffling the batting order hurt them badly as they could only muster 181 runs despite the openers providing the team with a flying start.
#1 India lacked a designated finisher
With Kohli going strong, India looked set to post a total in excess of 200 at one stage. However, a lack of support from the other end meant they could only manage 181-7.
With Pant and Hardik Pandya failing to make any significant contributions with the bat, many expected Hooda to chip in with a quickfire knock. However, he flattered to deceive, scoring only 16 off 14 balls.
Karthik, who has been India's designated finisher for the last few months, would have been a better bet in that scenario, maximizing the team's chances of posting a bigger total.
With Hooda not contributing with the ball, his inclusion over Karthik didn't make much sense.
It remains to be seen if the veteran wicketkeeper-batter makes a comeback in the next game against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday, September 6.
