Karthik scored unbeaten 41 runs in first T20I against West Indies.
Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja has heaped rich praise on Dinesh Karthik for his perseverance. He said that the wicketkeeper-batter could’ve easily continued with commentary at the age of 37 but he chose to follow his passion.
Ever since Karthik returned to the Indian set-up, he has set the stage on fire. It’s fair to say that India lacked solid finishing skills but his presence has given top and middle order batters the freedom to bat freely and go after the bowlers right from the first ball.
In the recently concluded 1st T20I against West Indies, Karthik’s staggering knock, in the end, helped India post a total of 190 runs on the board. After Indian skipper Rohit Sharma smashed a blistering half-century it seemed that India would post a big total. But they lost wickets in quick succession and even 160 seemed like a big hill to climb.
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But it was Karthik who made headlines for his blistering display towards the end. The keeper-batter hit an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls and stitched an unbeaten 52 runs stand with R Ashwin to help India post a big total.
Karthik was also awarded Player of the Match for his heroics and it’s almost certain that he will travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Speaking on Fan Code, Ajay Jadeja lauded Dinesh Karthik’s perseverance, saying that many people leave cricket at this age and he worked on his game.
“Interesting this is that he came even before MS Dhoni and hung on for so many years. The most impressive thing about him is his perseverance. Many people leave cricket at this age. But he worked on his game and thought, 'What is it that I can do the best', and decided to play the last four overs," Ajay Jadeja said.
Jadeja lauded selectors for selecting Karthik as a finisher, saying that India had Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant but credit goes to them for holding the wicketkeeper-batter back.
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“The Indian team has got so much talent for every position. They had players like Suryakumar, Rohit, Virat, Hardik, and Pant, but the selectors kept Karthik for the last four overs. Kudos to Indian cricket for this thinking but I feel you don't assign roles to your players. The game won't be running according to your terms,” he said.
Jadeja said that he has immense respect for Karthik as he could’ve easily continued with commentary but he chose to follow his passion
"But I have immense respect for Karthik and his love for the game. At 37, doing commentary is easy for him but he instead chose to follow his passion," he said.
Karthik will be next seen in action during the second T20I against West Indies on Monday (1st August).
(Fan Code inputs)