Dinesh Karthik has been the lifesaver with the bat for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on multiple occasions in this IPL 2022 season, performing excellently as the finisher.
Karthik stated in one of his interviews this season that he is eager to represent India in the forthcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, as he wants to help the side win an ICC trophy for the first time in 9 years.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, and batting legend, spent a lot of time in the commentary box with Karthik last year and claimed that the RCB batter should be considered for the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2022 only on the basis of his batting form.
"We did commentary together during the World Test Championship final in England last year and before that we spent a lot of time together when we were in quarantine. I know from then how determined he has been about playing in the T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022. He wasn't selected for last year's World Cup but the way he has performed in IPL 2022, if I were a selector then I would definitely pick him for the upcoming T20 World Cup," Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
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"Form is important. They say form is temporary and class is permanent and if a classy player is in form, then you must pick him. The way he is batting currently he should be considered and included as a pure batter and wicket-keeping should be an added option," he added.
Throughout his career, Karthik has been in and out of the Indian team across formats, and he has never been able to secure his spot in the Indian cricket team. However, the player is in red-hot form at the conclusion of his career, and Gavaskar believes his age should not be taken into account while selecting him for the T20 World Cup.
"Don't think about his age. He keeps for 20 overs and then bats and that too in hot conditions. He should be considered based on his form. The other two keeping options are KL Rahul, who is in great form, and Rishabh Pant, whose form is a bit up and down but there are no questions about his selection because he is a certainty.
"It is not written anywhere that you cannot select three keeping options. A keeper can also be an all-rounder so you can take him (Karthik) as an all-rounder," Gavaskar said.
