Former India batsman Aakash Chopra reserved high praise for comeback man Dinesh Karthik following the conclusion of the India-South Africa T20I series, where Karthik made a successful return to the national side after three years.
Karthik had earned his recall on the back of a scintillating IPL 2022 campaign – where he walloped 330 runs at a strike rate of 183, out of which 251 runs came in the death overs at a strike rate of 207 – and shone brightly in a match-winning knock of 55 runs off 27 balls in the must-win Rajkot T20I vs the Proteas.
Many fans and experts feel that Karthik has sealed not just in the Indian squad, but in the playing eleven for the T20 World Cup later in the year in Australia.
Dhoni’s entire career got over but DK is still there: Aakash Chopra
While discussing Karthik’s comeback and form on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Karthik had made India debut before MS Dhoni and is still there three years after Dhoni’s last international game.
“Batting is very difficult at the number he bats. The way he has played, he has been brilliant. It has been a very long career, Dhoni’s entire international career got over in between but DK is still there,” Chopra said.
The 37-year-old Karthik also became the oldest batter to score a half-century in T20Is.
A renowned commentator and respected pundit, Chopra saluted Karthik’s determination and hunger. He asserted that DK’s “unorthodox” style is what’s exactly required when batting in the death overs, the most difficult area in which the Tamil Nadu batsman seems to have excelled in hitting.
“The hunger is coming to the fore, the game plan, just the clarity about how he is going to play. He plays slightly in an unorthodox fashion but that is what is required to be done in the death overs. A specialist death batter is a very difficult role, there is no other role more difficult than this in the world,” the 44-year-old stated.
Karthik will next be seen in action on the UK tour – 2 T20Is in Ireland followed by white-ball matches in England.
