Dinesh Karthik Wasn't In Line For UAE World Cup But He Looks Set To Be Part Of The Flight To Melbourne - Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is convinced that Indian wicket-keeper batter, Dinesh Karthik, will be on the flight to Australia later this year for the T20 World Cup.

Gavaskar mentioned that he had a conversation with Karthik during the WTC 2019-21 final back in England last year where the latter revealed his ambition of turning up in the blue jersey once again.

“When we (him and Dinesh Karthik) went for the World Test Championship we were pretty much having lunch, breakfast, dinner together. And over there he was telling me about his ambition to come back in the India team for the T20 World Cup. He wasn’t in line for the one in UAE but this time around he looks very well to be part of the flight that takes to Melbourne,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Karthik wasn’t looking to get into the team as a top-order batter but he instead worked on hitting boundaries and occupying the role of a finisher.

“He was telling me, how he was creating situations in his mind and practicing according to them. So it was not just mindless practice, it was thoughtful practice. It was practice according to what the situation might be when he’s out there.”

“Because if you’re batting at 6 and 7, you’re not going to get 20 overs, not 18 overs. You’re gonna get 5-6, maybe if the wickets fall nine overs to bat but in those nine, how to go about it is what he was practicing,” he also added.

“He wanted to do some special training” – Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar said that Karthik realized he needed to try a different type of training as his usual routine wasn’t good enough and ended up in a club gym outside the hotels they were staying in.

“He was also training so he got out from the hotel gym because it wasn’t good enough. He wanted to do some special training. He went and got himself enrolled in a club.”

“That tells you about the dedication and keenness to come back into the Indian team. And the way he’s playing now that’ll only make you admire. You’ve put in the hard yards and it’s the reward,” Gavaskar concluded.

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