India pacer Shardul Thakur (AFP Image)
Dinesh Karthik suggested that Shardul Thakur will make a return to the India XI for the WTC Final in place of Axar Patel
Veteran India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik feels that Axar Patel might miss out on India’s XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval, London. India sealed a place in the WTC Final for the second consecutive season after beating Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Axar played a key role in India’s triumph over the Aussies with the bat. The bowling all-rounder scored 264 runs in four matches and was the third-highest run-getter in the series. Meanwhile, he was not at his best with the ball as he claimed just three wickets while his other spin partners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja claimed 25 and 22 wickets respectively.
Karthik suggested that Shardul Thakur will make a return to the India XI for the WTC Final in place of Axar as conditions at the Oval will assist the pacers.
“If Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are fit, Axar Patel will have to miss out. I think Shardul Thakur will take his place. If I have to be very honest, India made a mistake last time by playing both spinners, and they didn’t bowl that much. It’s a one-off game and you can’t look at it in the bigger scheme of things,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
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He also feels that India might also have to make a choice between Jadeja and Ashwin for the place in XI.
“You have to go into the game saying what is my best XI to win that game? If that means leaving one of Jadeja and Ashwin out, so be it,” he added.
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Talking about Ashwin, the veteran glovesman also said he might be at the backend of his career and he has to take a call on whether he can play for one more WTC cycle.
“It’s very hard for me to say how long they will keep going, but you do get the feeling that Ashwin is at the backend,” Karthik added. “Does he have another World Test Championship cycle in him? That is a question that he needs to answer. Again being the highest wicket-taker, I’m sure he will fancy himself.”
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