The Indian team management does not make many lineup changes, but a left-handed batsman is expected to be in contention in place of Karthik.
Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma would have checked most boxes and decided on nearly the entire playing XI for Thursday’s semi-final match against England. But, there is still one location that they will need to think carefully about.
The dilemma of picking Pant or DK-
It is up to the team management to decide whether they will pick someone with experience over a young player that everyone wants on the team- Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant.
The team has done everything it can to support 37-year-old Karthik behind the wickets, but experts and commentators would rather see Pant in the starting eleven. While, Karthik was the last batsman to bat in the nets, and Pant was the second batsman to bat after Virat Kohli. The left-handed player was angry and hit strokes all over the dial.
Karthik faced Shardul Thakur and other local bowlers in the nets. The team’s management has kept the same lineup for the whole tournament because it doesn’t think the team should change just because everyone else wants it to.
Failures of both the keepers in the matches-
Sharma said that Pant hadn’t played on the tour except for two warm-up games in Perth, so the team gave him a chance against Zimbabwe. The team wanted him to play so that they could use him if they had to.
Pant managed to get 3 runs against Zimbabwe, while Karthik got 1, DNB, 6, and 7 runs in four different games. In the first game against Pakistan, he walked off the field after facing just two balls in the last over. In Perth, he left the game in the ninth over against South Africa, but in the 16th against Bangladesh.
Time for the skipper to deliver
The team will also be hoping that Sharma does well on the big stage. Except for a 50 against the Netherlands, the captain has had a quiet tournament.
The Indian top order has done some good things and some bad things, and the team needs Sharma to step up. Other than Kohli, who is in great shape, KL Rahul took a while to get going at the top, but Sharma has been all over the place. In this tournament, Suryakumar Yadav has been the face of Indian batting.
But, if India wants to beat England, their best players need to step up. When the next T20 World Cup comes around in 2024, many of them might not be on the team. If they have a big score behind them, it will also help their bowlers.
The Indian team would like to think of the semi-final as just another game, but they know that this is the last chance they will get. If they win, they will play Pakistan in the final, but if they lose, they will be very upset and angry.
Jos Buttler on the semifinal game-
Jos Buttler, who is the captain of England, said that his team was very excited to play with India in the semifinals. It’s not every day that you get to play with a strong Indian team in front of a big crowd at one of the best stadiums in the world.
Pacer Mark Woods has the fastest delivery in the tournament, so it will be interesting to see if he plays on Thursday. He is stiff, and England will be hoping that he shows up on the big day.
