'If you don't take risk, how will you win?': Sunil Gavaskar wants both Pant & DK to feature in playing XI

The 2022 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to start in less than a month’s time. The BCCI has announced the Indian squad for the upcoming mega event. Both wicketkeeper-batters, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik, feature in the 15-member team selected for the tournament Down Under. But is it really possible to include both of them in the playing XI as well?

Many former greats and experts of the game are of the view that in order to have a sixth bowling option, only one of Pant and Karthik can feature in the playing XI, but former Indian captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar shares a different view. According to him, the Indian team management should take the decision of including both the players in the team and play Hardik Pandya as the fifth specialist bowler by trusting him to deliver with the ball on a regular basis.

"I would play both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. At No.5, Rishabh Pant, at No.6 Hardik Pandya or vice-versa, and I'll play Dinesh Karthik at No.7. I would go with Hardik and four other options as bowlers. If you do not take risks, how will you win? You need to take risks in all departments, then only you can get rewards," he said on the Sports Tak show.

With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul set to open and Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav to follow them at three and four, the inclusion of both Karthik and Pant in the same team will leave India with only five bowling options and if anyone of them has an off day, then India won’t have any other option to look into as well.

In the recently concluded Asia Cup, India preferred Karthik over Pant in the Group A opener against Pakistan, but in the Super 4 matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Pant got the nod over the veteran stumper. They did feature in two matches together, but that was only possible because Hardik Pandya was rested.