Sunil Gavaskar and several former players have expressed their disappointment that Dinesh Karthik will not be included in the India squad for the T20 World Cup in 2022.
After a strong showing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and the just-completed India-South Africa T20I series, Dinesh Karthik has cemented his status as one of the game’s premier finishers. To help India tie the series 2-2, the 37-year-old batted brilliantly for half of the innings against South Africa in the fourth T20I. Many previous players, including Sunil Gavaskar, have stated that they would be shocked if Karthik is not selected for India’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad based on his recent success.
Irfan Pathan, a former Indian cricket all-rounder, has now compared Karthik’s range of shots to that of South Africa’s great AB de Villiers.
“There aren’t many guys with this kind of versatility” (of shots). This player has an incredible amount of versatility. Dinesh Karthik and AB de Villiers are not comparable in terms of talent; rather, I’m referring to the former’s whole skill set. Irfan Pathan stated on Star Sports after Sunday’s rain-affected fifth T20I between India and South Africa that was abandoned in Bengaluru that his range is like that.
When faced with a fast bowler, he’ll play the leg-side fast bowler and use the sweep stroke. All of those shots are in his arsenal. When the situation calls for it, he frequently uses the leg side as well as the foot side. He’s a master of the slam. He makes excellent use of his feet. He’s a great spinner, and he’s also a great quick bowler. He’ll also hit from the first ball if you instruct him to. He’s a crucial player at the end of the game.”
Even as young opener Ishan Kishan into the top 10 in the current ICC T20 rankings for batsmen, veteran Karthik climbed a huge 108 spots to 87th place. Two half-centuries in the series against South Africa earned Kishan 206 runs at an average of 41, making him the leading run-scorer in the series. The left-handed batsman rose one place to sixth in the latest T20 rankings for batsmen as a result of his excellent form. Since the IPL 2022, Karthik has been in good form and scored a couple of blistering innings against South Africa in the T20 series.
Only Indian batsman Ishant Sharma is ranked in the top 10 of the T20 batting rankings, with Pakistan’s Babar Azam taking the lead.
Yuzvendra Chahal, India’s spinner, jumped three spots to 23rd in the T20 rankings after taking six wickets in the series against South Africa.
