Asia Cup 2018: Sourav Ganguly calls for one change in the Indian team ahead of clash against Pakistan

After winning three matches on the trot in the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India have well and truly presented themselves as one of the toughest teams to beat. Their next match is against arch-rivals Pakistan, whom they have beaten in the Group phase, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and quite expectantly, the Men in Blue are deemed to have the upper hand.

In the meantime, ahead of the crucial clash, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that KL Rahul deserves a place in the side more than Dinesh Karthik unless the latter is in the side as the designated wicketkeeper. The 46-year-old also believes that Rahul is a more skilled batter than the Tamil Nadu-born cricketer.

“I respect all the players in the current team as I have played the game for a long time, but I still feel that India should have gone for Rahul instead of Karthik. The latter deserves to be in the team only if he is the wicket-keeper. Otherwise, KL Rahul is a far better player than him,” Ganguly was quoted as saying to India TV.

Indian batting sans Kohli looks vulnerable

The 50-overs World Cup in England and Wales is scheduled to be played from the last week of May and Ganguly didn’t mince any words in saying that the Indian batting is a vulnerable lot without India’s all-format captain Virat Kohli, who isn’t playing the Asia Cup. He also raised concerns over the personnel in India’s middle-order, which doesn’t look settled according to him.

“The one thing that scares me a bit is that the World cup is not far away while the Indian batting sans Kohli looks vulnerable. Dinesh Karthik’s career is on the wane; MS is not in his prime anymore, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu are making comebacks.

So if you are playing four such batsmen who are not settled in this format and not a certainty in the team, then it looks like the selectors are compromising with quality in the team. So the mindset needs to change.” he added.

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