Insight Bureau: It was in 2006 that a young Dinesh Karthik won ‘Player of the Match’ award for his cheeky 30-odd in India’s first ever T20 International. Today, Karthik, nearing 37, with 330 shortest format matches under his belt, is showing signs of being another eternal comeback man of Indian cricket.
Recently, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured their second consecutive win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) thanks to a special counter-attacking knock by Dinesh Karthik.
The wicket-keeper batter calmly put the bad balls away and shifted the pressure back on Rajasthan Royals. The way the 36-year-old finished the game reminded many fans of another wicket-keeper batter who dominated world cricket for a long time — MS Dhoni.
Similarly, Karthik too said that he is not finished yet. “I made a conscious effort this year to do justice to myself because the last year, I felt I could have done better. The way I trained was much better this time around. Credit to the person who trained with me. I’m making a conscious effort to tell myself that I’m not done yet,” Karthik had said at the post-match presentation.
After two games, DK has been on a roll. He is yet to be dismissed in the 15th season and has played two gem of an innings, 32* (14) versus Punjab Kings (PBKS) followed by a match-winning 7-ball 14 not out. He has a strike-rate of 219.04, including 4 fours and an equal number of sixes. He will be eager to carry on in a similar stread and make a case for selection in India’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad.
