Team India’s Asia Cup 2022 campaign hasn’t gone the way everyone has intercepted it to be. Though the Men in Blue qualified for the Super Four round, they were outplayed in two consecutive games, which didn’t go well with many.
Playing the first game against arch-rivals Pakistan, the Rohit Sharma-led side managed to stretch the game until the last over, only to go home with a defeat. The Sri Lanka clash on Tuesday was a repetition of the first game, where the defending champions lost the game in the last over.
Now, as things stand, India’s chances of playing the final on Sunday are minimal as there are too many unlikely situations. It would not be very unfair to say that the Men in Blue’s journey in the six-team tournament is almost over.
Here, in this article, we will look at three names who could have contributed more if India had given more opportunities in the continental cup:-
1) Dinesh Karthik
India were forced to make unnecessary changes to their XI following the injury of Ravindra Jadeja. Surprisingly, Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda were given the go-ahead ahead of the veteran finisher. However, the decision didn’t turn out to be a masterstroke as both the former batters failed to make any remarkable contributions in both the games, making life tough for the other batters in the side.
Dinesh Karthik has a special ability to extract runs at the end and flourish in pressure situations. His presence in the side would have given the Men in Blue a much better finish, which they didn’t get from the rest of the batters.
2) Axar Patel
Axar Patel, who was named on standby, came into the squad after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. It was a like-to-like replacement and everyone had the perception that the left-handed batter would get the nod to fill Jadeja’s position. However, that wasn’t the case as Deepak Hooda was picked to do the needful duties.
But the experiment didn’t work out well as Hooda failed to finish the game and didn’t even bowl a single over in either of the games. If Axar had got the chance, it is a no-brainer that he would have bowled as he is arguably a better bowler. On top of that, Axar has also shown that he can contribute significantly with the bat.
3) Deepak Chahar
Avesh Khan’s illness didn’t allow him to participate in the encounters against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Deepak Chahar, who was on standby, came into the squad too late to be able to play on Tuesday.
An earlier decision to include Chahar in the XI would have given the Men in Blue a much more reliable option. The right-handed pacer has the ability to take wickets in the powerplay overs and that too, without leaking too many runs, which ultimately mounts pressure on the opposition’s batters.
