"He is very good as a commentator. But there, in the team, I would not pick him" - Ajay Jadeja excludes Dinesh Karthik from his 2022 Asia Cup squad

Former India player Ajay Jadeja has left out veteran batter Dinesh Karthik from his squad for the upcoming 2022 Asia Cup.

The 37-year-old has made a strong statement since making his comeback and is currently donning the finisher's role for Team India in the shortest format.

Karthik has scored 192 runs in 14 innings since earning a recall following a successful 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign.

The wicket-keeper batter has scored his first T20I fifty since then and continues to make a case for himself for the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup.

Explaining that Karthik's inclusion in the side hinges heavily on Virat Kohli's form, Ajay Jadeja said on Fancode:

“Now if you want to play the way I have heard them (say they will play), aggressive, then you have to pick differently. If Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma walks in, you need Dinesh Karthik at all cost. He is your insurance. But if you don't have either of them then Dinesh Karthik has no work here.

"But yes I would not put Karthik there, he can have a seat beside me. He is very good as a commentator. But there, in the team, I would not pick him."

Team India will open their Asia Cup campaign with a contest against arch-rivals Pakistan. The Men in Blue could complete a hat-trick of Asia Cup title wins for the second time, after first achieving it in the 1988-1995 window.

“I have added Shami to the team" - Ajay Jadeja

Right-arm pacer Mohammad Shami has not been in the scheme of things for the shortest format. Despite a relatively successful season with the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the fact that the World Cup is taking place in Australia, the selectors are still focusing on the existing pool of seamers.

Naming his bowling attack and batting personnel for the upcoming tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jadeja said:

“I have added Shami to the team. So for me, I select bowlers first. So Shami is a certainty. Bumrah, Arshdeep and Chahal. These are the four certainties. In batting, four are certainties for me - Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and Deepak Hooda. For this bowling attack, you have powerplay, middle overs and death overs sorted."

India's squad for the 2022 Asia Cup:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

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