The competition for places in the Indian cricket team remains as fierce as ever. Despite the number of games that the Indian team plays these days, there are always newcomers knocking on the doors of the senior team. As Team India continues to struggle with the problem of finding a ‘finisher’ in T20I cricket, veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has urged the team management to promote Deepak Hooda higher in the batting order and give the uncapped Jitesh Sharma an opportunity at No 6.
Hooda has done really well in the Indian Premier League, especially at No. 3 and No. 4 spots but in the Indian team, he continues to be tested as a finisher, at No. 6 or even lower at times. Karhik, unimpressed with the role allotted to the all-rounder, feels the team should give him a chance to prove himself at No. 3 before the decision to move on from him is taken.
“To be consistent is the hardest thing at 5, 6, 7, especially at 6 and 7. So Deepak Hooda, even though he has done really well at No.3, for some reason they feel he can do the job at No.6 and 7. I feel this is going to be a big challenge for him. Through his IPL career, barring Lucknow Super Giants, he is someone who has batted through the middle, at No.5 or 6, and hasn’t had great success. He fancies himself as a top-order batter. He rediscovered himself when he went from Baroda to Rajasthan. He likes batting in the powerplay. He likes to take the game on. But right now, in the recently-concluded Sri Lanka series, he did decently well at No.6 and it was a great opportunity for him,” Karthik said in a chat with Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz.
About the No. 6 spot, Karthik is of the strong opinion that youngster Jitesh Sharma would cherish the opportunity to play at the No. 6 spot as this is the position where he has groomed himself.
“Jitesh Sharma is a home-grown No.6 batsman. He is someone who likes batting there and would hence enjoy the situation a lot more. Her has batted there and has trained himself to bat there. But in this series I don’t see him playing. Now it is Deepak Hooda. But I do think if he is under pressure they should give him that opportunity at No.3 before they decide to move on from him,” Karthik opined.
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