India exited the 2019 World Cup after losing to New Zealand in the semi-final clash in Manchester. Dinesh Karthik was part of the playing XI but could only score 6 runs in 25 balls. The fans and the cricket pundits had thought that his international cricket career had come to an end.
But the Indian veteran wicket-keeper batter still had belief in himself and aspired to play one more World Cup for India. Turning up for Bangalore in the 2022 edition of the Indian T20 League, he made heads turn with his blistering knocks while batting in the middle order.
Striking at over 180, Karthik amassed 330 runs in 16 games at an average of 55. He impressed the selectors with his finishing skills and was rewarded with a recall to the Indian team. Since his comeback, Karthik has played some terrific knocks at the fan end of the innings and earned the position of the designated finisher in the team.
Karthik is part of India’s squad for the ongoing 20-20 World Cup and is likely to be playing the first match against Pakistan on Sunday. Karthik’s belief in himself has helped him come a long way but there was another man who also saw the same amount of belief in the Indian wicket-keeper batter.
Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma trusted in his abilities and has backed the veteran batter to don the role of the finisher in the team. Ahead of the big game against Pakistan, Dinesh Karthik wrote a heartfelt note for Indian captain while sharing a video from ICC on his Instagram handle. Along with Rohit Sharma, he also hailed Ricky Ponting for his beautiful words for him in the video.
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“For a man who went through all this, believed in me and always had time for me and showed me there is light at the end of the tunnel for that I’m ever grateful, that for me is @rohitsharma4,” wrote Karthik, along with a heart emoji for Rohit Sharma.
“Easily one of my favvv cricketers growing up and I loved every minute I spent with him during my time with MI. A champion leader and an astute reader of the game and the fiercest competitor you could meet and I love that about him,” said the Tamil Nadu batter about Ricky Ponting in the same post.
