India’s veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik reckons Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya will change the dynamic of the Indian team when they will make a comeback into the Indian team.
Jadeja missed the South African tour due to injury while Hardik Pandya was not fit enough and thus he was not selected for the series.
In the absence of Jadeja and Pandya, India has relied on the shoulders of Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur and Venkatesh Iyer to do the all-rounder job.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been in sublime form with the bat in the recent past and has delivered the goods while batting down the order. Furthermore, Hardik Pandya has been a consistent performer for the team as a finisher but he hasn’t bowled a lot due to fitness woes.
There is no doubt that Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya are India’s first choice all-rounders in white-ball formats. Jadeja has done a fine job in all three formats, especially as a batter but Pandya had last played a Test match back in 2018.
Dinesh Karthik said while talking to Cricbuzz, “I think we are missing two key all-rounders here, and all-rounders are worth their weight in gold. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. Once they come in, the dynamic of this team will look very different. Hardik at six and Jadeja at seven will look very different.”
Karthik added that Yuzvendra Chahal is India’s best wrist spinner at the moment and he is going to play a key role in the World Cup. Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin has also made a promising return to the white-ball format.
“Chahal is the best wrist spinner in India right now. He will be the bowler in the World Cup as well. So we have spin attack solved with him, and R Ashwin and you can also throw Washington Sundar.”
On the other hand, Karthik believes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who hasn’t looked threatening in the first two ODIs should be replaced. Kumar went wicketless in the two ODIs and he was also on the expensive side.
“I think he needs to be replaced. India needs pace in their attack. The difference with Bumrah is that due to his pace, his slower ones become more effective. But when was pace is in early 130s, your slower ones are not that effective, and you are dependent on knuckleballs a lot more.”
