Dinesh Karthik obliged by RCB: The veteran Indian wicket-keeper batter is satisfied to have made yet another national comeback.
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Veteran India and Royal Challengers Bangalore wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik is elated to have made yet another comeback to the Indian cricket team.
Karthik, 36, was named in an 18-member T20I squad which will play a five-match T20I series against South Africa at home next month. Irrespective of how he performs for India in the near future, Karthik’s this particular inclusion will go down as one of the most inspiring comebacks in the history of Indian cricket.
The same wouldn’t have been possible without Karthik’s ongoing Indian Premier League 2022 stint with Royal Challengers. Bought for INR 5.5 crore in IPL 2022 mega auction earlier this yhear, Karthik scored valuable 287 runs at a magnificent strike rate of 191.33. Readers must note that Karthik has the second-best IPL 2022 strike rate (minimum 100 runs).
“Very happy. Very very very satisfying. Must say that this has [probably] been my most special comeback,” Karthik said in a video posted by Bangalore this morning.
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“A lot of people had given up on me. For me to have come back and do what I did and practice the way I did with my coach [Abhishek] Nayar, so many special things have happened in the lead-up to the auction and post that.”
Dinesh Karthik obliged by RCB for backing him as a finisher in IPL 2022
Other than Nayar (Assistant Coach at Karthik’s previous IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders), Karthik also credited his current IPL team’s support staff in Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson and Head Coach Sanjay Bangar. A dedicated finisher for RCB this season, Karthik has excelled on the back of hitting 22 fours and 21 sixes.
“A lot of credit also to Sanjay Bangar and Mike Hesson. I think the clarity that they gave me for me to execute the role that I wanted to do, I am in many ways indebted to RCB for picking me and giving me that role and believing in me,” Karthik added.
Karthik, who had taken up commentary stints during the ICC World Test Championship Final 2021 and The Hundred 2021, further talked about how the same hinted at him moving on from playing days but it was never the case.
From being applauded by the likes of Faf du Plessis, R Vinay Kumar, Veda Krishnamurthy and Michael Vaughan during IPL 2022 league stage, Karthik was congratulated by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan and Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya after earning a comeback yesterday. Readers must note that much like Karthik, Pandya has also made a comeback to the national team.
