‘He made his selection inevitable’: Former India selector praises Dinesh Karthik ahead of South Africa T20Is – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Dinesh Karthik was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the mega auctions ahead of IPL this season and the veteran wicket-keeper batter played an instrumental part in aiding his side reaching the playoffs. He was given the designated role of a finisher and such was his impact that he has now also been included in India’s side for the T20I series against South Africa.

Karthik scored 330 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 183.33 and finished a number of games for his side. As per reports, he will also be used in a similar role for India in the upcoming series and a good outing here could see him on the plane headed to Australia later this year.

Former India chief selector MSK Prasad said that he had not seen Karthik bat in such clear frame of mind for a long time and his impressive show made his selection rather inevitable.

“He made his selection inevitable. Now that he is here again, he will get his opportunities, he can make an impact. Not many players are there in that particular role (finisher’s),” Prasad told NDTV. He added, “Probably, the selectors would have felt to give him one last try, because of the form he has exhibited in the IPL.”

Prasad went on to add that the five-match T20I series should give India a chance to fill a few gaps in their batting order ahead of the T20 World Cup slated to be held later this year in Australia.

Speaking ahead of the series, India head coach Rahul Dravid also said that since Karthik was selected for the Indian side based on his exploits as a finisher for RCB, he would be given a similar role since he understood how to go about closing games.

In a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, he said, “At that backend, Dinesh has really been able to show great consistency for the last 2-3 years. He has been able to make a difference in whichever team he has played, that’s why he has been picked.”

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