Dinesh Karthik doubtful for the game against Bangladesh after a back injury

Team India’s wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik suffered a back injury, likely ruling him out from India’s fourth Super 12 encounter against Bangladesh on Wednesday. 

Notably, Karthik was seen in severe back pain as he left the field at the end of the 15th over of South Africa’s innings. In his absence, Rishabh Pant kept wickets in the remaining overs of the game.  

Karthik has had an underwhelming tournament with the bat, managing only seven runs in two outings. He was dismissed for one versus Pakistan while departing for a 15-ball six against South Africa. 

Despite being late in his thirties, Karthik earned a recall into India’s T20 World Cup squad following his impressive outings as a finisher in the IPL 2022. However, he has failed to replicate the same level of success in most of his post-comeback appearances. 

If Karthik fails to recover in time, India will draft Rishabh Pant into their playing XI versus Bangladesh. And if that happens, they will have a left-hander in the middle order, ensuring ample variety in their batting lineup. In another move, they might ask KL Rahul to keep while assigning Deepak Hooda the finishing job.

India will lock horns with Bangladesh on Wednesday, the 2nd of November. The men in Blue would want to forget the loss against South Africa and enter this game with a positive frame of mind. Bangladesh or anything for that matter cannot be taken lightly in this T20 World Cup.

Since Rohit Sharma has taken over the captaincy, India have reached new heights in T20 cricket. The Dravid-Rohit duo has been strategically spot-on, scripting numerous victories for the Men in Blue in the shortest format. 

India Squad, T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.

Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.

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