Travelling from Perth to Adelaide in the same flight as the Men in Blue, a few Indian fans hit the jackpot. Airport is no place for the players to escape, and it thus becomes an optimal scene for selfies and autographs. Of course, a couple cheeky questions slipped in too.
“How’s your back now?” asked one energetic fan to Dinesh Karthik, who was seated in one of the 12 business class seats on the Qantas B737 plane. “It’s fine, thanks,” DK replied, ever so politely. Sitting next to him, Hardik Pandya smiled.
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Did he really expect Karthik to spill the beans about his physical fitness in such an environment? The Indian team has been found reluctant to share such details in even an official manner, or even at the press conference. There was no way Karthik was about to confirm, or deny, something so valuable, which in turn has a direct impact on the team selection for the next game.
You see, if Karthik doesn’t play, Rishabh Pant gets a straight chance as keeper-batsman and India gets an attacking left-hander to bat at number five. Also, KL Rahul gets another shot at the top, if at all there are any doubts of him playing another game in this T20 World Cup.
The latter isn’t really the case as such, as coach Rahul Dravid confirmed in the pre-match conference. And about Karthik, well, he was being monitored closely.
“He has come to training (on Tuesday), and we will assess. We will see how he pulls up on the match day after a good practice session. We will put him through his paces and ensure that we’ve given him a good workout, and then see how he pulls up tomorrow morning before making a final decision,” said the head coach.
Karthik then had a serious workout during India’s optional training session at the Adelaide Oval’s indoor nets. Alongside, he had KL Rahul and Virat Kohli for company. There were also R Ashwin, Harshal Patel and Axar Patel, batting and bowling in the nets. The latter two names could be in contention on Wednesday, as India looks to roll the dice against Bangladesh as per prevalent conditions.
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Apart from Rahul, who batted for long and then had a serious chat with Kohli, Karthik was under the spotlight as well. First, he batted in the nets, without much issue. The bigger concern was his keeping, so afterwards he had another light session behind the stumps. Mostly, he pulled through fine, albeit he didn’t test himself against pace due to the lack of space in the indoor nets. The decision could well be made just ahead of toss-time on Wednesday, pointing to a desperate wait for Pant’s fans.
Even so, this isn’t just about fitness behind the stumps. It is also about contribution in front of the stumps, with the bat in hand. Here’s Karthik’s returns from three games – 1 off 2 balls against Pakistan, did not bat against the Netherlands, and 6 off 15 balls against South Africa. While these are not ample returns given his role and batting position, there is also a stark juxtaposition of the situations he has batted in.
Against Pakistan, he was in prime finisher territory. A last over situation, only five deliveries to face, and yet Karthik couldn’t achieve what he had been selected for. And it is okay, really, for finishing is a high-pressure job which doesn’t always yield results. If you go out to bat 10 times as a finisher, chances are you will only meet the required situation 5/10 times, and then the desired result will only come 2.5/5 times. In a way, you are achieving success in 2.5/10 times, probably even lesser.
That last bit is concerning. Assuming 2.5/10 to be the standard herein, India has only picked Karthik to finish things off in a quarter of the innings he plays. While it is a weird notion on the face of it, the team management could have compensated this by using Karthik in a slightly different role as well. Wherein, he could come earlier in the batting order, and help rebuild innings. Given the bowling friendly conditions in this 2022 T20 World Cup, this usage has come to pass, even if by chance and not design.
Against Pakistan, India was 26-3 in 5.1 overs and yet Axar Patel was sent out to bat. It was in keeping with India’s strategy to hold Karthik back as much as possible. Yes, Patel also gave the right-left batting combination. But if the Indian think-tank were really a stickler for that, it would have played Rishabh Pant in all matches.
Then, against South Africa, it was a similar situation. Karthik came out to bat at 42-4 in 7.3 overs. This time he was able to stitch together a 52-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav. Even so, his contribution was a mere 6 runs off 15 balls. Did Karthik bat at number six in that game because there were not batsmen left? If Patel had played that game, there is every chance he would have come out to bat ahead of Karthik. That even Deepak Hooda – playing his first game in this tournament, that too on a wild Perth pitch – batted ahead of Karthik says something.
The underlying point herein is Karthik has only been picked for one specific job in this Indian team. In modern-day T20 cricket, that is a bit of a luxury, especially for an Indian batting line-up struggling for balance owing to its top-order dependency. And on current evidence, Karthik is neither getting the opportunity to perform the role he has been picked for, nor is he performing in the other role that comes across, both owing to Australia’s bowler-friendly conditions.
Currently, Karthik is like that kid who has always dreamt of going to Disneyland, and his benevolent long, lost uncle has finally bought him an all-expenses paid ticket. Here’s hoping the kid goes home happy and content, with great memories.
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