Former India 'A' coach and Test batsman Sandeep Patil hit out at the national selectors for not keeping faith in wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik for the one-day international series against Pakistan starting on April 2.
"Karthik is a devastating one-day batsman and should have been retained for the one-day internationals. He should have been the automatic choice for the slot," Patil said in Mumbai on Tuesday night.
"I am not against Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is a good wicketkeeper-batsman. But my point is Dinesh should have been given sufficient chances to come good and only if he had failed the selectors should have opted for Dhoni," the former dashing batsman said.
Patil was the coach for the India 'A' team which visited Kenya and Zimbabwe last season and the squad included both Karthik, who did duty for India in the three-Test series against Pakistan, and Dhoni, who has replaced the former for the six match limited over international series.
Patil, who has taken up the job of guiding Oman into the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, is all set to take up his new assignment as coach of the team in the 12-team ICC Trophy Champion hip in July.
The eighth ICC Trophy will see 42 matches held at a record 25 venues across northern and southern Ireland beginning on July 1 and concluding with the final at Clontarf on July 13.
As well as competing for the prestigious ICC Trophy, the event would decide the remaining five qualifiers for the 2007 World Cup.
Oman have a very good chance of making the grade as one of the top five finishers in the tournament in Ireland.
