‘They can make a difference’ – Dinesh Karthik suggests changes in India’s playing XI

India faced yet another defeat against South Africa, this time in the 50 over format and things haven’t fallen into place for the subcontinent side off late. A middle-order collapse that has been a familiar story for years now, had meant India fell short of the run chase of 296 by 31 runs which once looked very achievable. Meanwhile, veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik reckons either Mohammad Siraj or Prasidh Krishna should be included in the lineup for the second ODI.

From being at 68 for three, the Proteas side had made a strong performance by building up a 204 run partnership in the middle between centurions Rassie van der Dussen and skipper Temba Bavuma. While Temba looked to take his time through the singles, Rassie played the perfect foil to him unleashing some excellent shots against the spinners and bringing the home side back into the game. The Indian bowlers will deeply regret not having pushed the pedals when the pressure was on after three early wickets.

Dinesh Karthik votes for pace to do the trick

Karthik felt that India genuinely lacked pace in the bowling setup to take wickets in the middle overs and wanted the likes of Siraj or Prasidh to get a look in at the cost of either resting Bumrah or Bhuvneshwar. It has to be noted that both Prasidh and Siraj are relatively young to international cricket though the latter has some experience in the longer format and it is not going to be an easy task for either of them too.

“I’d definitely like one of Prasidh (Krishna) or (Md) Siraj playing these games. It is very important for India to find a way to add pace to their attack. Whether they want to rest Bumrah or Bhuvi is up to the management. I think they (quick bowlers) can make a difference in the middle of the innings, which is where they don’t seem to find wickets,” told Karthik while speaking to Cricbuzz after the game.

Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Shardul Thakur all had scored the fifties but it wasn’t enough for the visitors to put up a fight against the Proteas bowling attack.