'This isn't a Bengaluru wicket' - Virender Sehwag's harsh criticism on Dinesh Karthik's poor performances at T20 World Cup

India had a poor outing against South Africa at the Optus Stadium in Perth, where the two teams met for their T20 World Cup 2022 group stage fixture. After two back-to-back wins, the Men in Blue had been in great form but the Proteas bowlers restricted India to a low total of 133 runs, and the batters then chased it down in the final over to hand India their first loss.

Dinesh Karthik’s proficiency with the bat in the lower order earned him a place back in the Indian team, and he also gained the skipper and the coach’s trust to make his place in the playing combination. But so far in the tournament, Karthik has not been very impressive as he was dismissed cheaply against Pakistan and struggled to score against South Africa before being dismissed.

Pant should've been in the team: Sehwag

Former India cricketer and legendary batter Virender Sehwag was not pleased with Karthik’s approach in the game and opined that Rishabh Pant should have gotten an opportunity to play the game as he has the experience playing on Australian pitches.

"This should have been the case from the first day. Rishabh Pant has played Tests and ODIs there, and has performed and he knows how to perform in these conditions. When did Dinesh Karthik last play in Australia, when has he played on such bouncy wickets? This isn't a Bengaluru wicket. I said this even today that Pant should've been in the team instead of Hooda, Pant has the experience of playing here. His Gabba innings is a legend," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

"I can only give them suggestion, it's the management's decision. If Karthik is fit, they will go back to him again. But according to me, Rishabh Pant should've been in the XI from the start," he added.

In the fixture against South Africa, India made one change as they brought Deepak Hooda in the combination in place of Axar Patel, but did not use him as a spinner and utilized him purely as a batter. Hooda failed to make an impact, and thus Sehwag opined that Pant would have been a better option than Hooda.

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