Former Indian left-arm spinner Murali Kartik showered praise on India’s depth after convincing seven-wicket win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Kartik highlighted that players like Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, and Washington Sundar could not make it to the Asia Cup squad.
While Krishna (purple cap winner of IPL 2025) and Washington Sundar are part of the stand-by players’ list, Sudharsan (orange cap winner of IPL 2025) was not included in the squad. Furthermore, Arshdeep Singh hasn’t been included in India’s playing XI in the first two matches of the continental tournament.
The former left-arm orthodox spinner hailed Abhishek Sharma for giving a blistering start to the team. Sharma took the attack against Shaheen Shah Afridi from the get-go and scored a whirlwind knock of 31 runs off just 13 balls.
Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz, “Just think of the kind of players who are missing out. Somebody like a Sai Sudharsan, an Orange cap holder, can’t make the side. Washington Sundar can’t make the side. Ruturaj Gaikwad can’t make the side. Arshdeep Singh can’t make the XI. These are the kind of players you are talking about.”
“Just the way they played yesterday. The first ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi there is not even a sighter, which Abhishek Sharma needs. He runs down the track. That is the kind of talent you are talking about. We talk about all the other sides, like Hong Kong or Oman, being slightly below par or not up to scratch when it comes to other sides. Yesterday, India looked possibly the best side on view. There was no comparison at all”.
Kartik said India A or India B would have made it to the final of the Asia Cup as they have a lot of talent, that is waiting in the wings.
”We are getting the first signs of T20 cricket, in particular, of the post Rohit-Virat era, and I honestly believe if India had an A and a B side in this tournament, they would fight out the final. That’s how much talent is in India at the moment. It is a culmination of years of talent coming through from an IPL point of view, but playing on the big stage in front of big crowds at the best T20 tournament domestically in world cricket. When you are able to do it on that stage, then transferring it to the international stage is not as big a step.”
“There is some experience there, I know that. There are some players not quite as experienced at the international level as others. But they play in an environment in those 2-2.5 months through March, April, May, that is equal to international cricket, in my opinion, against high-quality international players. I think they can pick a second team that would be equivalent to all the other sides in that tournament, and be very, very competitive. So that’s the strength of where Indian T20 cricket is at the moment. We are starting to see some bold selections, I think, and they have done the right thing, leading forward to a T20 World Cup. I think it is going to get better and better,” the 56-year-old said.
India will next take on Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday.
