Asia Cup 2022: “He can’t finish games by sitting in the dressing room” - Virender Sehwag questions Deepak Hooda’s selection over Dinesh Karthik

Former opener Virender Sehwag was baffled by Team India’s ploy to pick Deepak Hooda over Dinesh Karthik in both their Super 4 matches of the Asia Cup 2022. Taking a dig at the Indian think tank, Sehwag said that Karthik cannot win matches for the team from the dressing room.

India have been all but eliminated from the race for a place in the final after their second successive defeat in the Super 4 stage. The Men in Blue went down to Sri Lanka by six wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, September 6.

Reflecting on Team India’s defeat, Sehwag questioned the selection policy, particularly the decision to leave out Karthik in favor of Hooda. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, he stated:

“If the thinking behind picking Hooda is that he can give you one over with the ball here or there, even Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can do that. But if you play a finisher in place of him, at least you can expect him to deliver two big hits in four balls.

A baffled Sehwag continued:

“I can’t understand the logic of Hooda’s selection. You have already picked a finisher and have recalled him at the age of 37, but now you are not playing him. What sense does it make? He (Karthik) can’t finish games by sitting in the dressing room.”

The former India cricketer added that the batters needed to give the bowling department that extra cushion of 15-20 runs because their key pacers were missing due to injury. He elaborated:

“Our batters needed to give our bowlers that extra cushion of 15-20 runs. We were in a position to reach 190 today (Tuesday), but made only 170. India’s finisher could have played if Hooda was not going to bowl.”

Batting at No. 7, Hooda was dismissed for 16 off 14 against Pakistan. He was then bowled for just three versus the Lankans. Significantly, he did not bowl a single over of off-spin in the two matches.

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“If you want Karthik to play the World Cup, pick him for the remaining games”- Virender Sehwag

Continuing with Karthik's topic, Sehwag urged the selectors and team management to have clarity of thought, specifically keeping the T20 World Cup in mind. He commented:

“Give Hooda a break for the next game and play either Axar Patel or DK. Also, if you want Karthik to play the World Cup, pick him for the remaining T20I games. The selection committee must be clear over whether or not they are looking at him playing the World Cup.”

See the Asia Cup schedule to find the next India match here on Sportskeeda.

Karthik was recalled to the Indian team after three years on the back of a stellar showing in IPL 2022 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

He scored 55 off 27 in the fourth T20I of the home series against South Africa in June. He also smashed 41* off 19 balls in the first T20I against West Indies in July.