Kapil Dev believes it will be difficult for BCCI to look past ‘experienced’ Dinesh Karthik

IPL 2022 has provided a whole new bunch of players who could push for a spot in India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in Australia, later this year. In-form batter Dinesh Karthik is undoubtedly among the prime candidates to earn a spot in the squad, given his exploits in the recently concluded IPL season.

Veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has been in and out of the national side on quite a few occasions over the past decade. However, with several senior players being rested for the T20I series against the Proteas, Dinesh Karthik earned a call-up to the Indian side for the bilateral series. 

The selection committee is expected to experiment a bit with their selection, given that the T20I World Cup is scheduled to take place in just about four months.

As a result of the packed schedule, Dinesh Karthik should be given a long run of games to prove his worth. The 37-year-old batter scored an unbeaten knock of 30 runs off just 21 balls in the second T20I against South Africa to help India finish a respectable total. The veteran batter had an average of 55 and a strike rate of over 180 in IPL 2022, which grabbed the selectors' attention.

Dinesh Karthik has found an admirer in the form of legendary Indian skipper Kapil Dev. The 1983 World Cup-winning skipper believes that Dinesh Karthik has the experience and performance under his belt, and it will be difficult for selectors to overlook him.

“This time, he has performed so well that he has forced the selectors to think that ‘look, you can’t ignore me. Rishabh Pant is a youngster, and he has plenty of cricket. Dinesh Karthik has experience and performance, which is why I would say that no praise is enough for him,” Kapil Dev told Uncut.

Moreover, Kapil Dev waxed lyrical on Dinesh Karthik’s ever-growing motivation to continue playing cricket. “He has been playing cricket even before MS Dhoni. It’s been two years since Dhoni retired, but even now, Karthik has kept his motivation level high, and to love the game with the same passion and heart after so many years is not easy,” Kapil Dev added.

Dinesh Karthik is expected to be a part of the touring party for the two-match T20I series against Ireland. Hence, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter will have sufficient time to prove his mettle in the Indian jersey.