As the top two teams prepare for their second and final encounter at Wankhede, Dinesh Karthik has weighed in on India's selection. He believes Ajinkya Rahane should be dropped for the second Test due to his ongoing poor form, suggesting that the squad would be perfectly fine without him. Meanwhile, he argues that Shreyas Iyer must remain in the side following a stellar debut in the opening Test.
Ahead of the second and final battle between the top two teams at Wankhede, Senior cricketer, Dinesh Karthik has weighed in on the playing XI of team India. Karthik wants Ajinkya Rahane to be dropped in the second Test due to his poor form. Dinesh Karthik opined that dropping Rahane would be of no harm to India. Indian commentator Karthik believes that there is no way to drop Shreyas Iyer as he had a dream debut in the first test.
Karthik suggests that a temporary break could actually help the interim captain regain his footing. He also believes the team will play with renewed confidence once Virat Kohli resumes his role as captain. With Rahane managing only 35 and 4 runs, he is now in a very vulnerable spot, and the team management is likely considering other options to fix the batting slump.
Karthik highlighted that Rahane's scoring drought has been persistent, pointing to a low average of 19.6 in 12 Tests throughout 2021. The player's dip in confidence is clear, as he hasn't even reached ten runs in eight of his innings this season. Karthik, the former keeper-batsman, argued that benching him for a match would take the heat off. He recalled a similar situation during the South Africa tour, where Rahane actually returned stronger after being dropped for a game.
Cheteshwar Pujara is another veteran in the top order who could be facing the axe. Since early 2020, his average has hovered around 27, and he hasn't registered a century since January 2019. Karthik remarked that both senior players are likely well aware that their current output is far below their usual standards.