Dean Jones backs an under-performing Indian cricketer to stage strong comeback

Dinesh Karthik, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, hasn’t had the best of outings in the first two matches against England. He perished to Sam Curran in the first innings at Edgbaston. Thereafter, he faltered to take India home when they were chasing 194 runs in the fourth innings. The second Test at the iconic Lord’s turned out to be a nightmare for him as he could score only one run, combining both innings’.

On all four occasions, the English fast-bowlers accounted for his wicket. He hasn’t quite been at his very best with the gloves behind the wickets and has been caught napping at times. After his lacklustre performances, talks of drafting in Rishabh Pant has already been doing the rounds. However, Dean Jones, the former Australian cricketer reckons Karthik will arrest his slump and make a comeback.

Jones is confident about Karthik

“Is it the right time to blood Rishabh Pant? “I think DK is an outstanding player. I loved him to bits. But again, if you don’t score enough runs or take wickets, the game will sort you out. He’ll come back. I’m expecting the Indian team will bounce back. It’s too good a team. Don’t go over the top about it (the Lord’s defeat),” Jones was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

Karthik is playing in place of Wriddhiman Saha, who recently underwent a surgery in Manchester, in a bid to recover from his shoulder injury at the earliest. Karthik is with the Indian team ever since their historic Test match against Afghanistan at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Rishabh Pant, the Uttarakhand-born cricketer, was roped in as his backup for the England Test matches.

Pant got his maiden call-up after his impressive shows for India ‘A’ in their four-day matches against England Lions and Windies ‘A’ last month. The 20-year-old also performed exceptionally for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

[interaction id=”5b713872cd0ad7ae17271236″]

For more news and developments, stay tuned on CricTracker.com.