India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has praised the Roht Sharma-led team for their elevation to the No. 1 position in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings. Given their sun-par performance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 last year, this indeed is a huge accomplishment for the team.
Following their 3-0 sweep of the West Indies, India just ascended to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I team rankings, passing World Cup semi-finalists England.
The team’s bench strength was one of the series’ highlights, with relative newbies like Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, and debutant Ravi Bishnoi impressing.
“Who doesn’t want to be world No.1 even if it is for some period of time?” Karthik said in the latest episode of The ICC Review. “Because other teams will play matches and then India plays more matches post the IPL so that could change. But for the moment, knowing that Team India is the No.1 T20 team in the world is I think a very, very good feeling.”
To keep their No. 1 status, India must whitewash Sri Lanka in the next T20Is, although Karthik believes that even momentarily assuming the position would be beneficial.
For the last encounter against the West Indies in Kolkata, India rested Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was unavailable throughout the series. Despite significant absences, India excelled, prompting Karthik to praise India’s reserve strength and flexibility.
“I think it is the quality of players,” Karthik said. “When you talk about good teams over a period of time, they always talk about the fact that bench strength needs to be very important, and India has great bench strength.
“If you take this series, they have rested Virat Kohli, they have rested Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah. But in spite of that, they have produced an astounding 3-0 series victory against West Indies, which is a very good T20 side.”
Karthik also emphasised the importance of the squad’s relative rookies, like as Iyer, Suryakumar, and Harshal Patel, who shone in the triumph against the West Indies. With 107 runs, Yadav was named Player of the Series, while Iyer demonstrated his abilities with both the bat and the ball, scoring 92 runs and taking two wickets.
“The guys coming in new have really grabbed on to their places,” Karthik said. “Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer. It’s just good to watch Harshal Patel – he has been an absolute revelation. So I think, the guys coming in are grabbing their opportunities with both hands and that’s always a good sign.”
Karthik was full of praises for India’s new coach and the captain and accredited them for “plugging small holes” that
“What I enjoyed most was Rohit’s captaincy,” Karthik said. “I thought he led the team beautifully. Tactically very, very sound, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the team played in the last couple of series against West Indies.
“The new captain and there’s a new coach, I think they are taking the team in a fabulous direction. They’ve plugged small holes, which were probably there previously, and that has been the beautiful part about it. And along the way, in the journey, they’ve managed to become No.1.”
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