Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik integral to Indian team, can't see them not making it to T20 World Cup squad: Graeme Smith

Former South African captain Graeme Smith feels Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are the players who must be a part of India’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad, calling them the ‘X-factors’ in the side. Smith closely watched the two returnees put up a terrific performance against the Proteas in the recently concluded T20I series.

India hosted South Africa for five T20Is, with the series ending in a 2-2 draw as the final decider match was abandoned due to rain. While India lost the first two fixtures, the Men in Blue bounced back stronger to put up a remarkable performance in the next two games and level the series. Pandya and Karthik earned praises from many former cricketers from around the world for their match-winning knocks during the series. Smith is also mighty impressed with the duo.

“Still a lot of cricket to be played so it is difficult to predict what is going to happen in the next couple of months but you are going to think Hardik and DK are integral to that squad. DK is experienced with that finishing role that he has played Hardik has grown leaps and bounds and is in control of his game. Mentally he looks like he has settled. And he is also that all-rounder X-Factor that India requires to just balance the team with him and Jadeja in the squad which opens up a lot of options. So I can’t see that those two not making it to the World Cup squad,” Smith told Cricket.com.

Pandya and Karthik were top performers against South Africa

While Pandya had been out of the international setup since the T20 World Cup last year, Dinesh Karthik had been waiting to receive a comeback call since the conclusion of India’s 2019 World Cup campaign. The duo performed magnificently for their respective teams at the IPL 2022, with Pandya leading the Gujarat Titans towards their maiden IPL title in their first-ever stint. While Karthik emerged as one of the finest finishers, Pandya returned to his all-rounder duties.

The fourth T20I between India and South Africa, which took place in Rajkot, saw Pandya and Karthik stitching up a 65-run partnership to take India’s total to 169 runs. While Pandya fell short of just four runs from claiming a half-century, the 37-year-old Karthik bagged his maiden T20I half-century to win the Player-of-the-Match award.