"He'd have been pushing Abhishek Sharma" - Dinesh Karthik's massive claim on star Indian batter amid Asia Cup 2025

Dinesh Karthik made a huge claim on star Indian batter Yashasvi Jaiswal amid the Asia Cup 2025. Jaiswal missed out on the main squad and was named in the standby list for the multination tournament.

Ahead of the game against Pakistan, Dinesh Karthik reckoned that Jaiswal would have been pushing Abhishek Sharma for the openers' spot had he continued bowling. Notably, Jaiswal bowled a bit of leg-spin but never really worked on the same.

For the Asia Cup, Abhishek Sharma, who also bowls part-time spin, got the nod ahead of Jaiswal for offering the extra bowling option if needed.

"If Yashasvi Jaiswal had been continuing his leg-spin and bowled well he'd have been pushing Abhishek Sharma for a spot in the team. We heard the selectors say that because Abhishek gives us an extra option with the ball we prefer him. It's sad that Yashasvi hasn't realized that. It could have added another facet to his game and he could have played as of today," he said on Cricbuzz.

Dinesh Karthik added how Shivam Dube was clever to realize that he would have to bowl as well to play in the Indian team. While Dube has not been bowling in the IPL, the medium-pace bowling all-rounder put in a couple of overs in India's first game against the UAE. He also bagged three wickets and had a successful outing.

"It is great to see Shivam Dube understanding that he may not be required to bowl for CSK but has to bowl for India if he needs to make a mark and be a part of the XI. Wherever I have seen him he tries to bowl. I liked how he bowled as well. It was about as good as I have seen him bowl. His role is very limited but specific if the team is struggling. He has aligned and adapted to it well," Karthik stated.

Jaiswal will therefore have to wait for his opportunity to make it back into the T20I side. He has played 23 games so far and has scored 723 runs at an average of 36.15 and a strike-rate of 164.31 with a hundred and five fifties.

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Dinesh Karthik heaps huge praise on Abhishek Sharma

Dinesh Karthik also heaped massive praise on young Indian opener Abhishek Sharma. He deemed Abhishek a batter who is very difficult to plan against as an opposition. Due to his fearless approach, the margin for error is very little for bowlers in this format.

"When you plan for a player, he is someone who is very difficult to plan for. He is slightly tall, has a lovely bat swing and he's got a flat batted swing. He puts most bowlers under pressure. Very fearless in his approach and prefers going over the top. He is one of those batters for whom when you are planning you need to get it spot on and cannot bowl the same ball twice. He can take off against both pace and spin very quickly. His style of play is suited to what any team would want," he said. (via the aforementioned source)

Abhishek has scored 565 runs from 18 T20Is at a strike-rate of 193.49 with two hundreds and as many half-centuries. Further, Dinesh Karthik also reckoned that Abhishek as an opening partner could get the better of Shubman Gill at the other end.

"He is the kind of player who can get the best of Shubman Gill as well. Gill will take a few balls. Abhishek will say you don't worry, we will still have a very high run-rate. They will make a very strong opening partnership and it will be a thrilling partnership to watch," Dinesh Karthik added.

Abhishek and Gill added 48 runs in just 3.5 overs in the game against the UAE. Their blazing start ensured that the Men In Blue chased down a low target of 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.