‘For 3 years I watched from the outside’: Dinesh Karthik on India’s comeback | Cricket News

After being sidelined for nearly three years, veteran wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik said he was enjoying every moment of his second stint with the Indian team. Karthik has returned to India’s squad for the ongoing five-game T20I series against South Africa, and will also make the squad for both T20Is against Ireland later this month. Ahead of the fourth T20I against Proteas in Rajkot, Karthik said his dream of playing for the Indian team kept him going for about ten years.

“For about three years, I looked from the outside. I looked at how special it was to be part of this team. I appreciate and I’m very grateful for every second that I’m here. L envy, the fire in my stomach in terms of wanting to come back here, to wear the national colors and represent the India team is something that I dream of every day, and that is what has kept me going over the past decade,” Karthik said in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter.

#TeamIndia come back
Motivation level
His journey from the 1st Indian T20I to today

You wouldn’t want to miss this special interview with @DineshKarthik. #INDvSA | @Paytm

Full interview https://t.co/ktexXftzL0 pic.twitter.com/F5YSS6D4Qi

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 16, 2022

Karthik has played in all three T20Is so far, earning scores of 1*(2), 30*(21), and 6(8).

South Africa won the first two matches and led the series 2-1, with India beating them by 48 points in the third game in Visakhapatnam.

The two teams will now face each other in the 4th T20I on Friday in Rajkot.

Promoted

Karthik, 37, returned to India after a brilliant Indian Premier League season with Royal Challengers Bangalore. He nailed the role of a finisher and played a crucial role in RCB reaching the IPL 2022 playoff stages.

In 16 games, Karthik had 330 carries at an average of 55.00 and a whopping 183.33 strike rate. It was his best IPL season in terms of average and strike rate.