Dinesh Karthik: ‘I am 100% ready to represent India at the T20 World Cup’

On April 11th, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had teased Dinesh Karthik during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL match, saying “Shabash DK! T20 World Cup mein selection ke liye push karna hai isko. Dimag mein chal raha hai iske World Cup. (Well done DK! He is pushing for a spot in the T20 World Cup. His mind is occupied with the thought of the World Cup).” Even though it was lighthearted banter, Karthik’s 23-ball 53 innings on the day was what brought up the batter’s name in contention for the upcoming T20 World Cup squad.

He followed that up with a blistering 83 off just 35 balls in RCB’s 287-run chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad which led to the voices for his selection getting a bit louder. Recently, Rohit had even mentioned he was “impressed” with the way the 38-year-old had batted and amassed 226 runs with a strike rate of 205.45.

On Saturday, a day before the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Karthik would also shed light on the matter, saying he was 100% ready to represent India in the T20 World Cup if he was called upon.

“At this stage in my life, it’s been the greatest feeling for me to represent India. I am very, very keen to do so. There is nothing bigger in my life than representing India at this T20 World Cup.

“I also feel there are three very honest, stable people at the helm who will decide what the best team for India will be at the World Cup- Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Rahul Dravid. I am completely with them and I respect any decision they take. All I can say I am 100% ready and I’ll do whatever I can to be on that flight of the T20 World Cup,” he said in a media interaction.

Karthik last played for India in the 2022 T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh but after 14 runs in 4 matches had to give way to Rishabh Pant in the middle of the tournament with India ultimately getting knocked out by England in the semifinal.

For this edition of the World Cup, Karthik will have to contend with the aforementioned Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul, all of them who look to be in decent nick ahead of the 20-over extravaganza in the Americas.

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In a chat on Club Prairie Fire podcast hosted by Adam Gilchrist, Rohit had spoken about Dinesh Karthik. “It would be easy to convince DK (to play in the T20 world cup) I guess!” It’s not known whether he was joking but Karthik sure has announced his ambitions upfront now.

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