Not Karun Nair! Dinesh Karthik Wants 23-Year-Old To Bat At No. 3 For India Vs England
Dinesh Karthik has suggested Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 and Karun Nair at No. 6 for India's first Test against England, with Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.
Star India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has said that he would like Sai Sudharsan to bat at No. 3 for India, with Karun Nair down at 6 when India take on England in the first of their five-match Test series at Leeds on June 20, adding that Shardul Thakur would pip Nitish Kumar Reddy to the playing XI.
The Indian team management is faced with a huge selection conundrum regarding the batting unit after the recent retirements of Rohit Sharma and ace batter Virat Kohli.
The departures of the star duo have led to some significant shuffles in the batting order. Karthik has backed Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul to continue their success from the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Skipper Shubman Gill and Pant were named in the middle order by Karthik, while the returning Nair was slotted in at No. 6.
Jaiswal, Rahul, Sudharsan, Gill, Pant, Nair, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul formed Karthik's top 7 for the Headingley Test.
Pant has already confirmed that he would be batting at No. 5 while Gill takes over the No. 4 slot.
'Jaiswal looks like a man who is ready for a challenge like this. At No.3, Sai Sudharsan, I feel he has done outstandingly well in white-ball cricket, IPL and in the limited opportunities he has had for India as well," Karthik said while speaking on a video on his Instagram handle.
'Can he (Sudharsan) convert that form into red-ball cricket as well? Shubman Gill, who is going to take over the mantle from the King. That's a big one, but he knows. He wants to win that dressing room," Karthik said.
'If he gets going with the bat and shows the form he has shown in white-ball cricket, the world is his oyster. At No.8, I think Shardul Thakur is going to be the man. He is a bowling all-rounder, but his batting is going to be useful," Karthik added.
England have already named their playing XI for their series opener. Experienced pace bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes returned to the line-up while Ollie Pope was preferred over Jacob Bethell.
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