'I see both of them playing': Sunil Gavaskar explains how India can play both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik

The eternal debate now before a T20I match takes place is which among Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik will find a place in the playing XI. Legendary India batsman Sunil Gavaskar feels that India can go with both wicketkeeper batsment can find themselves together in the lineup, just like the 2nd T20I vs Australia.
Pant Karthik

Sunil Gavaskar believes both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik can be accomodated in the lineup

Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Sunil Gavaskar believes that both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik can be included in the batting lineup.
  • He feels Ridhabh Pant needs to improve his offside game.
  • Matthew Hayden disagrees with Sunil Gavaskar.
After losing the first match of the three-match T20I series vs Australia, India made a strong comeback in the second game at Nagpur. In the eight-over-a-side match, which was curtailed due to a wet outfield, India won the toss and put Australia to bat. The visitors scored 90 runs, while India chased the target down with six wickets in hand courtesy a 46-run innings from skipper Rohit Sharma.
The game saw both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant included in the lineup. In fact, the eternal debate now before a T20I match takes place is which among the two wicketkeeper batsmen will find a place in the playing XI.
Legendary India batsman Sunil Gavaskar feels that India can go with both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik can find themselves together in the lineup.
"Yeah I see both of them playing. Hardik at 5, Pant at 6 or maybe Pant ahead of Hardik depending on the situation and Karthik at 7," the former opener said in an interaction with Star Sports.
However, Sunil Gavaskar believes that in order to improve his game, Rishabh Pant needs to up his game through the offside. "His offside game. Same with Hardik Pandya as well. Look at how he has developed his off-side game. Bowlers will say he's got the power, so let's target his off-side. What Hardik Pandya is doing now is using the pace and hitting over deep point for a six, that's what Pant has got to do. Pant is a predetermined, premeditated cricketer. He decides quite often what he is going to do before the ball is bowled. That's why he gets into trouble as he looks for something which is not there," he added.
However, in the same interaction, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden disagreed with Sunil Gavaskar, as he said that wither one of the two can be part of the line-up.
"For me personally, it has to be Rishabh Pant. You need to bank on him for the T20 World Cup. If this was a longer version of the game, you might see otherwise. When you are playing in Australian conditions. You want the power. DK is a magnificent player when he can use the pace of the bowler and the pitch but MCG is a big ground. You need a proper monumental hit to clear the ground, especially the square of the wicket. So it's so key to have power hitters, at least 3-4 players who can hit the ball long. Rishabh has got that versatility. I'd like to see him play more orthodox, he's been lost in experiments for long now," the former Australia opener said.
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