Asia Cup 2022 Championship: Reason for Rishabh Pant's absence against Pakistan

Rohit Sharma took everyone by surprise in India and Pakistan's second fixture of the Asia Cup. The Indian team made a colossal selection call by dropping Rishabh Pant from the playing XI. 

Dinesh Karthik was given the spot as the wicketkeeper batter for the team. When Rohit Sharma broke the news after winning the toss, Twitter got divided over the opinions. 

"A bit surprising but I hope it is not long-term. I will still back Rishabh Pant ahead of Dinesh Karthik. It's a massive surprise," said Gautam Gambhir. 

Supporting Gambhir's statement, Wasim Akram said, "That is a big call. He is one of the most phenomenal players, a modern top player. The way he bats, he is the future of Indian cricket. He is the future. Obviously, the World Cup is coming up but they have different planning."

One of the possible reasons for this call was the return and presence of all the first-choice players in the playing XI. Hence there was no possible way to accommodate both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI. 

Both of them have played different roles for the team. While Rishabh Pant has been a middle-order attacking batter, Dinesh Karthik has an uncanny ability to finish matches. 

For team India, it's more about finding the right playing combination. There is one point where Dinesh Karthik comes on top of Rishabh Pant, which is his finishing style in death overs.

That's what India probably needed in their playing combination and thus the decision.

Will Dinesh Karthik's place in the team be fixed as a wicketkeeper?

Harsha Bhogle said, "Leaving out Rishabh Pant is a huge call and a sign towards the favoured line-up at the T20 World Cup. It is also an acknowledgment of how India wants to play with DK as a power finisher."

Skipper Rohit Sharma had already clarified that the Asia Cup would have 80% of the same team as the T20 World Cup 2022. If Hardik Pandya is kept in the playing 11 of the coming few matches, then it would be very likely that India will step into the World Cup with Dinesh Karthik as their wicketkeeper-batter.