advertisement
Until around a month back, Dinesh Karthik was not even a part of the names that were being discussed for the wicketkeeper-batter's slot in India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. In Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Ishan Kishan, India had as many as five options to choose from, and Karthik was not one of them.
As it turns out, with barely a month and a half remaining before the T20 World Cup, Karthik is suddenly back into the fray once again, and is probably a hot prospect for a berth in India's squad ahead of most of those five names mentioned earlier. The reason behind that is his spectacular batting form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
The IPL 2023 season did not turn out to be good for Karthik. He amassed only 140 runs at a dismal average of 11.67, with his underwhelming returns being among the reasons why RCB could not make it to the playoffs. Understandably, the doors to the Indian team had almost shut on him after that lean patch. He was mostly seen engaged in commentary gigs around the world and it seemed like the end of his playing career was quite near.
In seven matches thus far in this IPL edition, Karthik has already amassed 226 runs — 86 runs more than his overall tally last season — at an outstanding average of 75.33 and a strike rate of 205.45. That includes a whirlwind 35-ball 83 against Sunrisers Hyderabad & a 23-ball 53 against MI, albeit in losing causes.
If we refine these numbers further, 137 of these runs have come in the death overs (17-20) – at an average of 68.5 and an even better strike rate of 253.7. Among players who have faced a minimum of 20 balls in the death overs this season, only Tristan Stubbs (280), Abdul Samad (262.96) and Heinrich Klaasen (254.76) have a better strike rate than that of the 38-year-old Karthik.
As good as these numbers look, you wouldn't know how well he is playing unless you have watched him. It is a work of art – the way he is blending touch play and finesse with power and aggression to construct his knocks. Pure box-office stuff!
On a night when Jasprit Bumrah decided to unleash his fury on the RCB batters with a breathtaking five-wicket haul, Karthik looked in no mood to bow down as he ended Bumrah's spell with a delightful lofted cover drive for a six.
These are astonishing numbers to brag about and many of the world's best batters cannot even claim to have that. To put things into perspective, Bumrah has even dismissed Virat Kohli five times in his T20 career, and here he is looking all clueless against Karthik.
This is enough to sum up Karthik's class and quality as a batter.
It is true that he has not quite had the international career he was expected to enjoy. Most of his outings for India have resulted in pretty average and mediocre performances, with the only major highlight of his career being the Nidahas Trophy final win against Bangladesh, where he took India over the line with another excellent lofted cover drive off Soumya Sarkar in the last delivery of the match.
Most of the other available options apart from Jitesh Sharma and Rishabh Pant – like Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan – are top-order batters. Jitesh is making his case tough with a string of low scores. Pant's return has been encouraging, but his T20I batting numbers after 66 matches do not inspire much confidence either. From the top-order options, only Sanju Samson has performed consistently thus far.
However, India's top five looks packed right now with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya set to occupy those slots. So, India need someone who can fulfil the demanding role of a number 6 or 7. That is where Karthik perfectly fits the bill, as he is playing the same role for RCB right now.
While it's true that Karthik couldn't make an impact for India in T20 World Cup 2022, scoring only 14 runs in four innings at a meagre average of 4.66 and dismal strike rate of 63.63, after being selected for the mega event on the back of an equally successful IPL season that year, his current form suggests that he deserves another chance to redeem himself and bring glory to India.
But here is destiny offering him another shot at glory - a second chance! And going purely by his current form and skillset, the selectors shouldn't mind giving him one.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)