'These decisions are not easy' - KL Rahul on Dinesh Karthik-Rishabh Pant selection debate

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Meanwhile, both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have found a place in the squad. 

Even though both Karthik and Pant have been selected to bolster the middle-order, the question is who among the two will be getting to play the next six T20Is leading up to the T20 World Cup? India's vice-captain KL Rahul has also expressed his helplessness in explaining who will be backed from here on.

It really depends on what kind of combination we want to go with: KL Rahul

“It really depends on what kind of combination we want to go with. It will always depend on firstly the surface that we’re going to play on. Secondly, the teams that we’re playing against. And yeah, these decisions are not easy," Rahul said during a media interaction ahead of the first T20I against Australia.

“Obviously, both of them are really high-quality players and they have been playing really well. Both of them to me do different roles. So for us as a team, and for the captain and coach, obviously at the leadership group, is to see what role we need on that particular day," he added.

Karthik made his way back to the Indian T20I squad after showcasing outstanding performances in the IPL 2022 where he finished with 330 runs from 16 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, including a half-century at a strike rate of 183.33. He remained unbeaten in 10 innings.

While Karthik did get a chance in India's Asia Cup 2022 opening fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan, he was benched during the main matches and Rishabh Pant was preferred over him. Unfortunately for India, the southpaw failed to make any impact in the crucial Super 4 encounters against Pakistan and the eventual champions Sri Lanka, registering scores of 14 and 17 respectively.