T20 WC 2021: Dinesh Karthik picks top three players to watch out for in the tournament

The International Cricket Council has released the itinerary for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played between October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The 2021 edition of the tournament was earlier set to take place in India, but was later shifted to the gulf country owing to the Covid-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, ahead of the marquee tournament, Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has revealed his top three players to watch out for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021. During an interaction with renowned sports broadcaster Isa Guha and West Indies cricketer Darren Sammy, Karthik stated that he is keenest to watch out West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, Australia’s Mitchell Starc and India’s Hardik Pandya.

Dinesh Karthik’s top three picks for ICC T20 World Cup

“For me, Nicholas Pooran is someone who is special. When he finishes his career, he’ll be one of the T20 greats because o the way he bats. There’s something called bat swing, and he has probably got the best bat swing cricket. He could hit a cricket ball farther than most have ever done. He is a very, very important player if West Indies want to move forward in the tournament,” said Karthik.

“Mitchell Starc, if he comes good for Australia. He’d be bowling those important overs for Australia, upfront, at the death. He has not been going too well, of late. But in the last series against West Indies, especially in the ODI format, he’s found his rhythm back. He has got the ball to come back in, and he has got people [out] with sheer pace. I am hoping that he holds onto that. Because if Australia has to do any damage in this tournament, he is going to be a key player.

“When you want to win big tournaments, you need characters, people who are up for a fight. For India, that [character] is Hardik Pandya for me. He is there with the ball, he is there with the bat, and he plays a critical role with the bat, because every time India has floundered a little bit or want to up their run-rate, he is the guy. He can hit most bowlers to most parts of the ground… one of the reasons I really enjoy him. Even [with] his bowling, he is very clever, he is gone on to become the leader of the pack. You can see him talking to the other bowlers,” Karthik added.