An inopportune injury to Wriddhiman Saha has given a chance for Dinesh Karthik to establish his Test credentials. Saha’s broken thumb has put him out of commission for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June and selectors picked Dinesh Karthik to keep wickets.
Karthik, who has seen an amazing resurgence in his career in the last year or so as a finisher in limited overs format, will play his first Test since 2010. He is in good form with the bat, as he led KKR to the playoffs of the recently concluded IPL 2018 and ended the tournament with 498 runs to his name.
Karthik was chosen over Parthiv Patel, who too was recalled after a long time, for the two Tests against South Africa at the start of the year.
“Although Karthik hasn’t played a Test for a long time now, he has played enough to know what Test cricket is. Most importantly, he seems to be in a very good space both physically and mentally. He has been brilliant in white-ball cricket for India in the last few months and also took on the responsibility of leading a big side like KKR in the IPL. I believe he also realises that this could well be the last opportunity for him and will want to make use of this. I have no doubt in my mind that he is ready to take this opportunity,” former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta told TOI.
Karthik credits fellow cricketer, mentor and friend Abhishek Nayar for his resurgence and confidence in the game. Nayar worked with Karthik to get rid of the “self-doubt” about his ability to make an India comeback.
“A Test recall means the world to him. When we started working together, we didn’t dream or imagine that he could get back into Test cricket. We were realistic with IPL and stuff. I think we will get together and start working from June 6 in Bengaluru. So he will have a good week or so to prepare leading into the Test,” Nayar said.
A good performance in the Afghanistan Test might also put Karthik on the plane with the Indian team to the England series also. He is already in the limited overs squad for England, but his performance might also get him into the Test team as a backup of Saha, as he recovers from his thumb injury.
“To be honest, let’s keep Saha aside because he is by far the best wicketkeeper. But what I will say is Dinesh has also been keeping well over the last year or so. I haven’t seen him make any glaring errors. As far as the England series is concerned, it also boils down to what kind of Test match Karthik has against Afghanistan with bat and gloves. Now that he has been picked ahead of Parthiv, he is definitely going to be a part of the England Test tour. There is a lot of cricket Dinesh will play in the next two months. So there is time to see what kind of form he is in by the time the England Test series starts,” Dasgupta added.
