Experienced campaigner Dinesh Karthik edged out much younger Rishabh Pant in the fight for the second wicketkeeper slot in India's 15-strong squad announced on Monday for the ICC World Cup starting May 30 in England.
There were no surprises as the MSK Prasad-headed selection committee maintained continuity in their choices with the only topic of discussion being the second wicketkeeper.
The 33-year-old Karthik got the nod ahead of the 21-year-old Pant despite an indifferent IPL campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“The second wicketkeeper comes into play only if Mahi (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) is injured. We went ahead with Karthik because of his experience in big matches,” Prasad said while announcing the squad.
The absence of Rishabh Pant was one of the glaring exclusion. And Twitter was divided between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik.
Another big exclusion was Ambati Rayudu. The Tamil Nadu batsman came into the contention after his great performances for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2018 edition of the IPL.
Rayudu’s drop in form both internationally and in the IPL also didn’t augur well for the batsman. And many Twitter users were not elated with his exclusion.
The side, expectedly led by Virat kohli, comprises five specialist batsmen, two wicket keepers, three fast bowlers, three all-rounders and two specialist spinners.
Squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh karthik, Ravindra Jadeja.
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