T20 World Cup 2022: India coach Rahul Dravid clarifies on Dinesh Karthik’s selection; reveals his role

On June 9, the five-match series between India and South Africa will begin. The opening match will take place at New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, with one game each at Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot, and Bengaluru.

Dinesh Karthik had set a goal of returning to the Indian squad for the IPL 2022 season, and he had achieved his goal even before his side, Royal Challengers Bangalore, had finished their campaign. After an almost three-year absence, the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman returned to the Indian team.

Rahul Dravid, Team India’s head coach, has revealed Dinesh Karthik‘s position in the national team, stating that the wicketkeeper-batsman has been called back to serve as a finisher. During a press conference before of the first T20I against South Africa, the renowned batsman said Karthik has shown in the recently finished Indian Premier League (IPL) that he can be extremely efficient with the bat towards the conclusion of a game.

Advertisement

“With Dinesh (Karthik), it’s very obvious and very clear. He has made a comeback on the basis of the skills that he has shown in a particular phase of the game. At the back end, he has really been able to be a point of difference in whichever teams he has played. That’s why he has been picked, he has been picked to bat in that kind of position and see if he can replicate those kind of performances for India as well,” Dravid said.

Karthik has 330 runs in 16 matches for RCB this season, with a strike rate of 183. In the last five overs of the innings, he was at his most lethal. In the competition, he hit the majority of his 22 sixes in the death overs. Karthik is expected to score fast runs in slog overs and duplicate his IPL achievements, according to the former Team India captain.