Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik? Rohit Sharma opens up on selection dilemma for WC semis

Team India captain Rohit Sharma spoke to reporters in a pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final clash against England. The Men In Blue finished the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 as the Group 1 winner with four wins and a loss in five games. Speaking to reporters a day before the important match, Rohit shed light on the team combination they might choose for the match.

Sharma spoke about the much-hyped issue of choosing a player between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the playing XI. While Karthik played the first four games of the T20 WC 2022 for India, Rishabh was given his lone chance during India’s final Super 12 stage match against Zimbabwe. However, the left-handed batter failed and went back to the dugout after scoring just three runs.

'Pant was the only guy who did not get to play,' says captain Rohit Sharma

Meanwhile, speaking on the wicketkeeping role for India, Rohit said the team wanted to give Rishabh a chance to play as he has not featured in any of the games except for the warm-up games. "Between DK and Pant, I had just during the last game as well, Pant was the only guy who did not get to play on this tour at all except the two games we played at Perth. They were unofficial practice games but since then he has not had a hit,” said captain Rohit.

Since Rishabh missed game time, the team felt it won't be fair to make him play directly in the semi-final or the final. “He was missing game-time, so we wanted to give him time and have some options as well if we want to make changes in the semi-final or final," Rohit told reporters. The captain further explained that the players have been asked to be ready for stepping up whenever there’s a chase to play, no matter it is the semis or the summit clash.

India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Referring to Rishabh’s inclusion in the squad against Zimbabwe, he added, “It was a little tactical as well considering we did not know which team we would play in the semi-final before that Zimbabwe game. We wanted to make sure to give the left-hander an opportunity to counter those spinners who bowl in the middle. But again, what is going to happen tomorrow, I cannot tell you now but both of those keepers will be in play for selection." The India vs England second semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played from 1:30 PM IST onwards on Thursday.

Watch: Rohit Sharma's full press conference ahead of India vs England