Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the former India captain and ex-chairman of the selection committee, feels that although Dinesh Karthik is a fine finisher, but he sees middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav as an actual finisher in the Indian team.
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Since his comeback to the Indian team for the series against South Africa in June, Karthik has stepped up to be the specialist finisher, a high-risk role where consistency levels are very hard to maintain.
A 27-ball 55 on a tough pitch against South Africa at Rajkot and an unbeaten 19-ball 41 on a tricky pitch against West Indies at Trinidad have been some examples of Karthik`s finishing role benefitting India in recent times.
In contrast, Suryakumar has been batting in the middle-order, making a fine 117 against England at Nottingham and more recently, opening the batting in West Indies, with a 44-ball 76 on a tricky pitch at St Kitts being the standout.
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"What do you mean by a finisher? In my book, the finisher is the guy who can take the batting from the 8th or 12th over and go on till the 20th over, and win the match for India. He starts from the 8th or the 6th over, but where is the good finisher? KL Rahul is a good finisher and Rohit Sharma is a good finisher. They go opening by the way. I just can't say that you bat the last 5 overs and say he`s a finisher."
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"I would like to term Dinesh Karthik, he definitely finds a place in my team too. I would call Dinesh Karthik a fine finisher but actual finishers are guys like Suryakumar Yadav. He is a brilliant finisher. You have Rishabh Pant, who is a brilliant finisher. You have Hardik Pandya, who is a brilliant finisher too. I think I would like to clarify that a finisher is a guy who takes the team from the 8th over and goes on till the 20th over," said Follow the Blues show on Star Sports.
