On Monday, Indian team management announced their 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023. In a big relief to the team, star batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul made a comeback after recovering from different injuries. However, Rahul is still carrying a niggle and might not feature in the first one or two games.
Meanwhile, Iyer, who has a proven track record at number 4, will be keen to get back to work and perform for the team. Indian team management and skipper Rohit Sharma have waited a lot for him, as no other batter has performed exceptionally to cement his place in the squad. However, there is a group of fans who think taking two injured players to the prestigious tournament is not a great idea.
Rebutting them and explaining the need and use of Iyer at number 4, former wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik backed the team’s decision. Karthik said that there is no one better than Iyer at number 4, and he has been consistent with the bat too. While speaking with the Apex Cricket Council, he said, “Shreyas Iyer is the right player at No. 4 given his form and the runs he scored before injury. He has probably been the in-form batter at No. 4.
“I was very impressed with Tilak Varma”, says Karthik
One of the most surprising decisions of the selection committee was picking 20-year-old Tilak Verma for the prestigious tournament. His inclusion came as a backup batter for Shreyas Iyer. Speaking about the same, Karthik also praised him and said that Tilak had impressed him. “I was very impressed with Tilak Varma. I think he showed different sorts of temperament to his batting; at times he went all guns blazing up the order, then there was a game where he had to finish it off with Hardik Pandya, and he did that as well”, says Dinesh Karthik.
Further speaking about his skillset and different uses, Karthik highlighted that Tilak can roll his arms and bowl off-spin. He said the team will surely look to get some quick overs from him too. “More important is that he can add off-spin, and we have not had somebody who can roll their arm over, so that makes that player very special”, says Karthik. It’s worth noting that India will start their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on September 2.
Here is how fans reacted to Dinesh Karthik’s comments:
Rajat patidar deserves to Play at no.4 TBH
— Saurav (@saurav_viratian) August 22, 2023
?????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ???
????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???
— Manjeet kumar??#RB (@Manjeetkumar_) August 22, 2023
Rohit
Gill
Kohli
Shreyas
Perfect top order— Tas ?? (@TasneemKhatai1) August 22, 2023
Iyer is the best option for number 4 without any doubt. I can see hun scoring couple of 100s in the WC.
— M (@anngrypakiistan) August 22, 2023
Iyer at 4, Sky at 5 probably?
— Mukesh M (@mukkuseervi02) August 22, 2023
Bodied Tilak varma ???
— Dennis? (@DenissForReal) August 22, 2023
Yes , Rohit Gill Virat Shreyas KL best top 5
— Dipto Chakraborty (@Dipto_Chak) August 22, 2023
Shreyas 4 oke bt he isn't available Tilak varma is the good choice
— krishnamoorthy (@krishna99123) August 22, 2023
I would love to see SKY?? in place of Iyer.
— Half engineer (@Half_engineer5) August 22, 2023
Sanju Samson deserve at 4
— Suresh Parmar® (@iamSureshParmar) August 22, 2023
Shreyas Iyer is the best option for us at #4 in the batting line-up. He is probably one of the best ones who can handle spin gracefully. He is gonna be an impactful performer in this upcoming #AsiaCup2023 & #WorldCup2023 ?.??#CricketTwitter
— RAJESH-SWD (@iamrajeshjena) August 22, 2023
BCCI to Sanju Samson pic.twitter.com/TmjCWXCgWv
— Pawan Shukla (@Shukla8175) August 22, 2023
Why Dinesk speak ? RCB ko haarne k bad
— ?TYM (@stym_30) August 22, 2023
How dk judged his form when he hasn't played a single game since last 5 months?
— ICT Hater / ???? (@yorkerking01) August 22, 2023
He has not played in the last few months. Very risky to go into a worldcup without any match practice or confidence of runs…
Same for KL…only @imVkohli or @Jaspritbumrah93 can walk into a team without match time…— Balan Sadasivam (@balan_sadasivam) August 22, 2023
