‘Pick him as pure batter’: Sunil Gavaskar puts his weight behind Dinesh Karthik for inclusion in India T20 World Cup squad – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Dinesh Karthik should be included in the T20 World Cup squad as a pure batter with wicket-keeping being an added option.

Dinesh Karthik of Royal Challengers Bangalore bats during match 22 of the IPL 2022 between the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on 12 April, 2022. Sportzpics for IPL

Karthik, who has been in form of his life, has scored 274 runs in 12 matches and has been unbeaten in 8 games in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Amid the debate over Karthik’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the World Cup, Gavaskar has put his weight behind the RCB batter who has also dabbled in commentary alongside the former batting great.

Gavaskar said that Karthik was determined to play in the World Cup and the way he has played in the IPL this season, there was no reason why the classy player shouldn’t be picked.

“We did commentary together during the World Test Championship final in England last year and before that we spent a lot of time together when we were in quarantine. I know from then how determined he has been about playing in the T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022. He wasn’t selected for last year’s World Cup but the way he has performed in IPL 2022, if I were a selector then I would definitely pick him for the upcoming T20 World Cup,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.

“Form is important. They say form is temporary and class is permanent and if a classy player is in form, then you must pick him. The way he is batting currently he should be considered and included as a pure batter and wicket-keeping should be an added option,” he added.

Gavaskar feels that Karthik — who has been in an out of the Indian team across formats throughout his career — should purely be picked on the basis of his form and his age should not be looked at while considering him for the World Cup, which is slated later this year.

“Don’t think about his age. He keeps for 20 overs and then bats and that too in hot conditions. He should be considered based on his form. The other two keeping options are KL Rahul, who is in great form, and Rishabh Pant, whose form is a bit up and down but there are no questions about his selection because he is a certainty.

“It is not written anywhere that you cannot select three keeping options. A keeper can also be an all-rounder so you can take him (Karthik) as an all-rounder,” Gavaskar said.

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