Dinesh Karthik is very hard to bowl at in death overs, says Simon Katich
Simon Katich has stated that Dinesh Karthik is very hard to bowl at in death overs, especially once he is set. The wicket-keeper batsman is the captain of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders whereas Katich is the assistant coach of the same side and has observed Karthik closely.
The number four batting position in the Indian side was one of the most debated topics before the selection of the 15-man squad for the World Cup and it still does not seem to settle down any time soon. Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu were only named as reserves while Vijay Shankar was picked and is likely to be a starter at number four.
However, wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik was chosen despite being dropped for the Australia series, which was the Indian side’s final assignment before the marquee event starting May 30. Kolkata Knight Riders Assistant coach Simon Katich was all praise for the Tamil Nadu batsman and reckoned that he has all tricks up his sleeve.
“There is a lot of talk around that No.4 spot, and he is a guy who likes to spend time in the middle. Once he is set, he is very hard to bowl to at the back end. He has got all the tricks and he does have the timing and power to clear the rope,” he said, reported IANS.
The KKR skipper had a poor run in the IPL this year as he could only manage 233 runs with one fifty in as many as 13 innings. But the former Australia player insisted that a player should not be judged based on his performance across the two formats.
“It’s hard to judge a player based on T20 cricket with ODI cricket,” he added.
Katich, who has played 56 Tests and 45 ODIs for Australia, feels that the Australian side has a lot of top order batsmen. Post Steve Smith and David Warner’s 12-month ban, Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch have made the spot their own. However, the duo of Smith and Warner have made a roaring back with the IPL and will be raring to go in the quadrennial event starting May 30. Katich felt that the side will have a good selection headache.
“They are both quality players and their records speak for themselves. The hard part is the Australian team has a problem of plenty particularly in the top four. Both of them are the top four players. There is (Usman) Khawaja, (Aaron) Finch, Shaun Marsh, and the two and these guys will try to fit into four slots. Then there is (Glenn) Maxwell, (Marcus) Stoinis. It’s going to be a tough selection call,” signed off the 43-year-old.