Why is Dinesh Karthik not playing today’s T20 World Cup 2022 match between India and Zimbabwe in Melbourne?

During the 42nd match of the ongoing eighth edition of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 between India and Zimbabwe in Melbourne, India captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to bat in a dead-rubber contest.

“We will bat. It’s the preference of the team to bat first [and] nothing to do with the pitch. We just want to bat first and give a chance to our bowlers to defend,” Sharma told the broadcaster at the toss.

Unlike Sharma, Zimbabwe captain was looking to bowl first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in their last match of the tournament. Hence, the toss hasn’t disappointed either of the two captains.

“We were looking to bowl first. The ball might skid through in the evening under lights,” Ervine told the broadcaster at the toss.

Why is Dinesh Karthik not playing vs Zimbabwe today?

India, who haven’t hesitated from tinkering with winning combinations lately, have made a lone change to their Playing XI by including wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant for wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik.

Although Karthik had suffered a back spasm earlier in the tournament, readers must note that he has recovered from the same and that has been left out because the team management wanted to give an opportunity to Pant. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the 37-year old player’s current form in the tournament might have also not worked in his favour.

“One change – Rishabh Pant plays instead of DK [Dinesh Karthik]. He is the only guy who hasn’t played a single game on this tour including the warm-up games. We wanted to give him a game,” Sharma explained the rationale behind the move.

Pant, 25, will be playing his first match of this World Cup but had played two practice matches against Western Australia last month. With Pant’s inclusion, pacer Harshal Patel and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal remain the only two Indian cricketer to have not played any T20I in this tournament.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI by bringing in all-rounder Tony Munyonga and spinner Wellington Masakadza for batter Milton Shumba and pacer Luke Jongwe.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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