IND vs AUS 2022: "Dinesh Karthik has unfortunately shown no interest in batting in the top five" - Gautam Gambhir picks Rishabh Pant over India's 'finisher'

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has claimed that veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik hasn't proved that he can bat in the top five for the current Indian team.

There has been a lot of debate about who among Rishabh Pant and Karthik will get the nod if India were to pick a full-strength team. Many believe it should be 'DK' as Pant failed to impress in the 2022 Asia Cup.

However, speaking to Star Sports, Gambhir explained why he wouldn't want to play someone who had restricted himself to playing in just one position. Karthik has largely been deployed only lower down the order, while Pant has played in multiple positions this year.

He said:

"To start, I will pick Rishabh Pant (over Dinesh Karthik). You can't pick a player in a T20 game just to play 10-12 balls because there is no guarantee that it will come off every time.

"Dinesh Karthik has unfortunately shown no interest in batting in the top five and so I will start with Rishabh Pant at [No.] 5. The reasoning shouldn't be that you need a leftie in the middle-order. The reasoning should be that Pant is a match-winner."

Gambhir also spoke about why the Men in Blue can't fit both wicketkeeper-batters in the middle-order. He added:

"You can't play both (Pant and Karthik) in the middle-order unless you drop someone like Suryakumar Yadav or KL Rahul and make Pant open the batting.

"India simply have to go with six bowling options and the sixth could be anyone from [Deepak] Hooda, Axar [Patel] or [Ravichandran] Ashwin and then Hardik Pandya and the seamers."

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I will tell them to tap that inner monster: Matthew Hayden on Team India's star batters

Rohit Sharma and Co. have employed an ultra-attacking approach while batting in T20Is this year. While it worked in their first few games, the wheels came off during the 2022 Asia Cup's Super 4s stage.

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden was asked whether the Men in Blue should continue with that fearless approach even in big games like knockouts. Hayden opined that it was important for the Indian top four to play their naturally aggressive game.

On this, he stated:

"The World Cup is all about handling pressure and executing something that no one else can in that situation. Look at Rohit Sharma how he plays with freedom. If he and the others get into that zone then it's very hard to stop them.

"If I am in that camp, I will tell them to tap [into] that inner monster and just liberate it and play freely like you do in gully cricket."

The first T20I between India and Australia will be played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday, September 20.