Exclusive: Karthik credits 'bench strength' for India's rise to No.1
India recently climbed the summit of the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I team rankings following their 3-0 sweep of West Indies, overtaking World Cup semi-finalists England in the rankings.
One of the things that stood out in the series was the team's bench strength, with relative newcomers like Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer and debutant Ravi Bishnoi making an impression.
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India will need to sweep Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20Is to retain their No.1 ranking, but Karthik believed assuming the position even temporarily would have benefits.
"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."
India rested Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant for the final match against West Indies in Kolkata, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah wasn't available throughout the series. Despite big absences, India impressed, leaving Karthik lauding the reserve strength and India’s disposal.
"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.
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"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 noted the impact of the relative newcomers in the squad like Iyer, Suryakumar and Harshal Patel, who starred during the win against West Indies. Yadav was the Player of the Series with 107 runs, while Iyer showed his skills with both the bat and the ball, scoring 92 runs and picking up two wickets. Patel also impressed with his variations, taking five wickets at 21.00.
"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."
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Karthik was full of praise for the Rohit-Dravid duo, crediting them for “plugging holes” in the side.
"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.”