Indian captain Rohit Sharma kept his cards close to his chest in the pre-match press conference ahead of the all-important semi-final against England as far as the playing XI was concerned. Rohit revealed that both wicketkeepers are in contention to play against the Jos Buttler-led team.
India had backed Dinesh Karthik in the first four matches of the T20 World Cup. Subsequently, India gave a chance to Rishabh Pant in the final match of the Super 12 stage against Zimbabwe. Rohit revealed that they wanted to give the left-hander some game time before the knockout stages as the team had already qualified for the semi-final.
Both Karthik and Pant, however, haven’t yet fired with the bat in the ongoing T20I showpiece.
Rohit said: “Rishabh didn’t get to play all games including a few practice games. He was the only guy missing in that list. It will be unfair if you bring the guy in and made him play straight away.”
He added: “We have told all the guys about this to be ready whenever required. We wanted to give the left-hander an opportunity against Zimbabwe. What is going to happen tomorrow, [we] won’t be able to tell you now, but both wicketkeepers are in play for selection.”
On the other hand, Axar Patel has been expensive as he has conceded his runs at an economy rate of 9.10. However, Rohit added he isn’t worried about the all-rounder’s form with the ball.
“I’m not really worried about him (Axar). He hasn’t bowled full quota. We have full seamers who have bowled full quota which means spinners can’t bowl full quota.
“We didn’t get Axar to play in the powerplay which is his quality. [In the] Series before coming here, he did well. I thought kind of space he is in. And he is in a good space.”
India will take on England in the semi-final on Thursday at Adelaide Oval.
