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India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was in fine form on Friday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. The comeback man scores his maiden T20I half-century, 16 years after he played his first T20I for the Men in Blue. At 37 while some have their doubts over his place in the India squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar is convinced that Karthik could be the man India are looking for.
Although former cricketer Gautam Gambhir believes that he should be picked in the squad only if he is guaranteed of a place in the XI, Gavaskar felt that one needs to look at the Tamil Nadu cricket's performances and not his age. Gavaskar did not name Gambhir but his remark seems to have come in response to Gambhir's comment before the start of the fourth T20I.
"I know people are talking about how can you include him in the team when he's not going to play. How do you see he's not going to be able to play? He could be the guy you want. You look at the form and not reputations, names and then you pick the guy," Gavaskar said after the match on Star Sports.
Karthik scored 55 off 27 balls on Friday with the help of 9 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of over 200. His innings helped India post 169/6 after which the Men in Blue bundled South Africa out for 87, registering a win by 82 runs. India's victory has levelled the five-match series 2-2 with the decider in Bengaluru on June 19.