Question for Indians - Karthik

[thevortex]

do u really want another reserve opener wen two of GG/VS/SRT are not playing.wen u have an option of Karthik whos been doing a job

I am not sure what you are asking. Yes, Gambhir and Tendulkar are not playing. That is the sole reason why you want another opener, right? The question is - is Karthik the best reserve opener (or even reserve middle order batsman - dont forget he has been called up to bat in the middle order in the past as well when a batsman was injured) we have got? And I wanted to point out that he is doing the job of a specialist batsman. Not as a keeper batsman.

[Lord]

I am not sure what you are asking. Yes, Gambhir and Tendulkar are not playing. That is the sole reason why you want another opener, right? The question is - is Karthik the best reserve opener (or even reserve middle order batsman - dont forget he has been called up to bat in the middle order in the past as well when a batsman was injured) we have got? And I wanted to point out that he is doing the job of a specialist batsman. Not as a keeper batsman.

but hes doing the job,no ?did well v SA,in Asia Cup.looking at the performances of Kohli,Rohit,Karthik certainly wont be the one I'll be most worried about. I agree that Dhawan or any other opener could've been picked,but once it wasnt Karthik was the natural choice to open. if hes the worst batsman in the line-up then I'm all for dropping him,but hes not. hes doing the job of a specilist batsman,but doing two roles even then,wen we need an opener,hes the first one to do it,when we need a MO hes there. hes picked in the squad as a reserve keeper/batsman.dunno whats wrong in that.hes certainly best in that regard

[thevortex]

but hes doing the job,no ?did well v SA,in Asia Cup.looking at the performances of Kohli,Rohit,Karthik certainly wont be the one I'll be most worried about. I agree that Dhawan or any other opener could've been picked,but once it wasnt Karthik was the natural choice to open. if hes the worst batsman in the line-up then I'm all for dropping him,but hes not. hes doing the job of a specilist batsman,but doing two roles even then,wen we need an opener,hes the first one to do it,when we need a MO hes there. hes picked in the squad as a reserve keeper/batsman.dunno whats wrong in that.hes certainly best in that regard

I am afraid you are not getting my point. Simply repeating that he is being picked as a reserve keeper/batsman is not going to be enough. He is not keeping. When he is not keeping, he is playing as a specialist batsman. My question is - does India not have another specialist batsman better than Karthik? If so, all I am saying is that this is a huge cause for concern. I have never indicated that Karthik is doing a bad job.

[Lord]

I am afraid you are not getting my point. Simply repeating that he is being picked as a reserve keeper/batsman is not going to be enough. He is not keeping. When he is not keeping, he is playing as a specialist batsman. My question is - does India not have another specialist batsman better than Karthik? If so, all I am saying is that this is a huge cause for concern.

there are specialist batsmen better than him,but picking a squad with a reserve keeper bat is expected,now what Dhoni does with it is his choice.we cant have 3 different players for reserve MO/opener/keeper roles,esp wen we dont need to. Kohli,Tiwary are picked a reseve batsman on this tour,but Karthik is expected to do better than them at opening n hence gets the job.simple enough.why complicate it?

I have never indicated that Karthik is doing a bad job.

why question a player whos no doing a bad job just because hes not a specialist bat?especiallly wen other specialist bats like Rohit,Kohli arent doing any better

[Zap_Brannigan]

I am afraid you are not getting my point. Simply repeating that he is being picked as a reserve keeper/batsman is not going to be enough. He is not keeping. When he is not keeping, he is playing as a specialist batsman. My question is - does India not have another specialist batsman better than Karthik? If so, all I am saying is that this is a huge cause for concern. I have never indicated that Karthik is doing a bad job.

Both Karthik and Nohit are averaging 30 after 40+ innings with a pretty bad SR. Karthik moreover has scored most of high scores when the team scores big(for example, his highest 79 came in the game sachin scored 200 and we scored 400 i.e karthik scored just 20% of the runs). Even his best effort in the asia cup is just 25% of the total runs eventhough he was the top scorer for our team. Even Jadeja has a couple of innings like that. He is not someone who can change the scope of the game or someone who can bat long and let others build around him. To me, he can play as a wicket-keeper batsman, when Dhoni is not playing, but he is not good enough for a batting spot. Even if i rag on Nohit a lot, there is atleast a glimpse of makings of a batsman in him. But nothing with either Karthik or Jadeja. Kholi has a pretty good record so far, even if we forget his innings against BD. Why isnt he or Tiwary tried opening? Does the Indian think thank think that Karthik is better than these 2? Or do they think that they will do worse than Karthik's 14(20),10(35), 9(25) opening? (which reads 33/3 in 13.2 overs)

[sudheer kumar]

Selectors are considering Dinesh Karthik as Back up wicket keeper. But we have so many better players who can do better than Jadeja with bat and behind wickets. Naman ojha will be first choice. I heard Robin Uthappa also a football keeper. He is next choice.

[thevortex]

there are specialist batsmen better than him' date=but picking a squad with a reserve keeper bat is expected,now what Dhoni does with it is his choice.we cant have 3 different players for reserve MO/opener/keeper roles,esp wen we dont need to.

Kohli,Tiwary are picked a reseve batsman on this tour,but Karthik is expected to do better than them at opening n hence gets the job.simple enough.why complicate it?

Why is that? The question is one of team selection not playing squad selection.

why question a player whos no doing a bad job just because hes not a specialist bat?especiallly wen other specialist bats like Rohit,Kohli arent doing any better

Again I dont think you understood my point at all. It is not about questioning Karthik in any way at all. I have explained this.

Pray who are they??! And why are they not getting picked?

[Lord]

Pray who are they??! And why are they not getting picked?

the likes of Dhawan,Pujara.they arent getting picked bcoz e have two young bats in Rohit n Kohli who r getting chances,other spot in the squad is left for a player who can do multiple roles

Why is that? The question is one of team selection not playing squad selection.

maybe because Karthik has opened at both Test n ODIs n Dhoni feels more confident in giving im the responsibilty rather than a rookie

Again I dont think you understood my point at all. It is not about questioning Karthik in any way at all. I have explained this.

u r not getting it too.Karthik is originally picked in the SQUAD as a reserve WK/opener.at other times wen the all the other MO player r picked n we still need a player,then he comes in THE PLAYING XI rather than us having to call on another player are u saying Tiwary should've been opening?

[amal1997]

Dinesh Karthik is a useless Opener and player! I done a test and i found out there are 2 other openers performing better than he has Abhinav Mukund Firstclass-53 average List A-58 Shikhar Dhawan! 40+ in both karthik has 40- in both and 30- in 1..very bad

[thevortex]

the likes of Dhawan' date='Pujara.they arent getting picked bcoz e have two young bats in Rohit n Kohli who r getting chances,other spot in the squad is left for a player who can do multiple roles[/quote'] This is not the answer. There are experienced blokes too out there. You said there were other options. Having other options but not picking them is to negate the presence of those options. Other options are to be mentioned if they are going to be picked. Otherwise, what is the use?!

maybe because Karthik has opened at both Test n ODIs n Dhoni feels more confident in giving im the responsibilty rather than a rookie

There can be a thousand maybe's. But then again, what is a reserve keeper/batsman doing replacing a regular batsman? To repeat myself for the nth time, does that mean that there are no regular batsmen better than Karthik in India?

u r not getting it too.Karthik is originally picked in the SQUAD as a reserve WK/opener.at other times wen the all the other MO player r picked n we still need a player,then he comes in THE PLAYING XI rather than us having to call on another player are u saying Tiwary should've been opening?

Remember, Karthik has replaced batsmen in the middle order too. So, your argument about him being picked as a reserve keeper/opener is faulty. He is there as a batsman - plain and simple. Dhoni is not relinquishing gloves. Not unless somebody literally snatches it from him :). Lets first get into what the mistake is. Then we can look at solutions. My problem is with the team selection as well as the squad selection. The point is very simple. If Karthik is not going to keep, why is he keeping out a regular batsman like Kohli?? Forget Tiwary. I hope you get my point.

[sudheer kumar]

Dinesh Karthik is a useless Opener and player! I done a test and i found out there are 2 other openers performing better than he has Abhinav Mukund Firstclass-53 average List A-58 Shikhar Dhawan! 40+ in both karthik has 40- in both and 30- in 1..very bad

I don't think team management will try experiments by taking a new player into team before world-cup. Team should replace Karthik with experienced player. Uthappa will be right choice to replace him. I think Karthik has more support from selectors when compared to Uthappa. Uthappa need to play consistently in CLT20. That will be turning point for his career.

[The Dark Horse]

Karthik is no worse than Kohli or Sharma, and he was in some form in the Asia Cup when compared to Kohli~ the logical choice is to play him instead of Kohli or an untried Tiwary(considering the pitch conditions). The thing is it should be Kohli vs Sharma instead of Kohli vs DK. Agree that all the 3 have failed but DK has had a couple of decisions against him + he has tried to apply himself, on the other hand Rohit has committed the same mistake of playing across the line and is not learning from mistakes- he has to make way for Kohli:wall:

[thevortex]

We probably will see the change your are suggesting, Dark Horse. Although I am not sure that that is the right way to go. If Karthik is not keeping, then Kohli should open and Sharma asked to tighten up. That would be positive intent. But this team's leadership has never threatened to be aggressive. So, I will not be surprised if Sharma is replaced by Kohli.

[thevortex]

Dark Horse - there you go! Dhoni has obliged. Only thing is he has picked Munaf which is interesting. Effectively we have 5 bowlers considering Jadeja as a bowler too. An interesting combination for India. Something which they have always been afraid to try. Although Jadeja is not just a bowler. But it is probably very optimistic to call him an all rounder as well.

[thevortex]

And there he goes - again! Way too loose outside the off stump. Wonder what happened to his reasonably compact technique that he showcased a couple of seasons back against England. The question still begs to be asked - should he be making somebody like Kohli and/or Sharma sit out?

[Lord]

And there he goes - again! Way too loose outside the off stump. Wonder what happened to his reasonably compact technique that he showcased a couple of seasons back against England. The question still begs to be asked - should he be making somebody like Kohli and/or Sharma sit out?

yeah as if they r scoring tons of runs

[Gunner_Mania]

And there he goes - again! Way too loose outside the off stump. Wonder what happened to his reasonably compact technique that he showcased a couple of seasons back against England. The question still begs to be asked - should he be making somebody like Kohli and/or Sharma sit out?

The question is should he be opening ? He is in the team as a make shift opener. Otherwise he wouldn't even find a place in the team. My view is if he is in the team, he should be keeping wickets and give Dhoni a rest. We should be replacing Gambhir/Sehwag/Sachin with a genuine opener at the top when they are not around.

[Zap_Brannigan]

yeah as if they r scoring tons of runs

Or what about Tiwary? He is in the squad..Karthik scorecard this series reads 33/4 in 13.4 overs. Is that really a tall order for Kholi or Tiwary to surpass?

[thevortex]

yeah as if they r scoring tons of runs

The answer is right there in your question! With all other things being equal (nobody is scoring runs) why not give more chances to the specialists?

The question is should he be opening ? He is in the team as a make shift opener. Otherwise he wouldn't even find a place in the team. My view is if he is in the team' date=' he should be keeping wickets and give Dhoni a rest. We should be replacing Gambhir/Sehwag/Sachin with a genuine opener at the top when they are not around.[/quote'] Well, I have given up hope on Dhoni relinquishing the gloves. I have almost got the feeling that he has gotten used to directing his team and bowlers from behind the wicket. So even if he does not feel 100% as far as wicket keeping, he still wants to be there for a captain's perspective. Thats my thought. As for Karthik - I would have given Sharma another chance and had Kohli open. The problem with asking Karthik to open is that then you are bringing into question Dhoni's spot. Can he get into the team as a genuine batsman? That is where statistics brings in a funny perspective when it says he is the No.1 ODI batsman :). These are swinging tracks. Dhoni is not cut out to be a specialist batsman in these kinds of tracks. So we are in a typical catch 22 situation, I think.

[Sachinism]

Terrible way to get out today, just hung the bat out there