Former India batter Mohammad Kaif feels that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and veteran Dinesh Karthik will play a “crucial” role in Team India's T20 World Cup campaign in Australia later this year. Arguing that the Men in Blue would need batters who could score quick runs in the death overs, and being the finishers, both Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik would have to shoulder the responsibility of delivering the goods in the final overs. As per Mohammad Kaif, the pair's performance would decide whether India will end their 15-year drought in the prestigious ICC event or not. The Indian cricket team last won the T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.
“I have been saying that if you see the top-order, you have lots of players there like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, (Shreyas) Iyer. But to finish the game, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik will be playing a major role as India need finishers who can play with higher strike rate,” Mohammad Kaif said in a virtual interaction organised by Sony Sports.
“So, I see these two repeating the same things again and again. Like they did against South Africa and in the IPL as well, their form will be crucial against Ireland and when they play T20Is against England and then moving forward from there. If India has to win the World Cup, they will be playing a crucial role,” he further added.
During the South Africa series, the Hardik Pandya-Dinesh Karthik combination showed the world why they are regarded as two of the most dangerous batters in the T20 format.
With 117 runs in four innings at an average of over 58, Hardik Pandya finished as the third leading run-scorer in the series. But the scary part about his heroics against the Proteas was that his runs came at a strike rate of 153.94.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik's exploits in Rajkot have now become a part of Indian folklore as the 37-year-old became the oldest batter from the country to score a fifty in T20Is, breaking the legendary MS Dhoni's record.
In the match, Dinesh Karthik was unstoppable from the word go. The Tamil Nadu batter toyed with the South Africa bowlers, smashing a stunning 55 in just 27 balls.
Seeing them perform so well together, many former cricketers now reckon that these two would finally bring the T20 World Cup home for India.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith and India's head coach Rahul Dravid have been highly impressed with Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik.
“Still a lot of cricket to be played so it is difficult to predict what is going to happen in the next couple of months but you are going to think Hardik and DK are integral to that squad. DK is experienced with that finishing role that he has played Hardik has grown leaps and bounds and is in control of his game. Mentally he looks like he has settled. And he is also that all-rounder X-Factor that India requires to just balance the team with him and Jadeja in the squad which opens up a lot of options. So I can’t see that those two not making it to the World Cup squad,” Graeme Smith told Cricket.com.
“Karthik was picked for a specific skill – something he was done exceptionally well in the last two-three years. It is nice that his selection has been vindicated. It came together brilliantly at Rajkot, where we needed that big performance in the last five overs to make a par score. Karthik and Hardik (Pandya) batted wonderfully for us. Both Karthik and Pandya are our enforcers at the death. They can capitalise in the last five-six overs as well as anyone in the world. It is nice to see Karthik do well. It opens options for us going forward. I was telling the guys that they have to bang the doors open, not just knock. An innings like that (at Rajkot) certainly means that Karthik is banging hard,” Dravid said in a press conference on Sunday.
Former India pacer Ashish Nehra, meanwhile, thinks that Dinesh Karthik will be the Indian cricket team's “impact player” during the T20 World Cup.
“Yes he does score runs in the last 3-4 overs but experience means that he knows a lot many other things as well. Selectors, team management should all be happy. The knock surely will give him confidence as well and going forward, in this entire talk about impact at that batting position…you have Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and then the experience of Karthik. He is the kind of player who can help you chase down even targets of 200 in Australia,” he said.
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