"KL Rahul will be in a lot of difficulty"- Dinesh Karthik's open challenge ahead of SL ODIs

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik opened up about Ajit Agarkar's comments about KL Rahul needing to hit the reset button to cement his place in the Indian team. Dinesh Karthik acknowledged that it is a tough message for any cricketer, especially in the middle of an international career.

The Indian team has several all-format players, including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah. KL Rahul was also part of this group but lost his place in the T20I side. The wicketkeeper batter failed to make it into the Indian squad for the recent T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA.

The Karnataka cricketer was not recalled for the T20I series in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. However, he was included in the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Notably, Rahul performed well in the ODI World Cup 2023. He scored 452 runs in 10 innings, including a century and two fifties.

The three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka will take place from August 2 to 7 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Ahead of the team's departure for the white ball series against Sri Lanka, Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, said that one of the feedbacks Rahul received was to "hit the reset button."

"KL, one of the feedbacks he has got is ‘you’ve got to hit the reset button’," Agarkar said.

I'm Not Going To Lie - Dinesh Karthik

Speaking on Cricbuzz’s "Hey CB with DK," Dinesh Karthik said it will be difficult for KL Rahul to "hit the reset button." The former cricketer added that the right message is being sent to Rahul. Karthik said that Rahul is a talented player who could excel with some adjustments in his approach.

"Feedback for KL Rahul is to hit the reset button, as said by Ajit Agarkar. After losing his spot in the team and captaincy change, how difficult is such a message for a cricketer to take?" a fan asked.

"It is always tough. I'm not going to lie, it is tough. Hitting the reset button in the middle of an international career is not easy, but I think the right message is sent to KL Rahul,” Karthik said in a video shared by Cricbuzz on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"He's a special player. I believe he's one of the most talented batters going around in Indian cricket. And if he does change a little bit about how he approaches, he's going to kill it," he added.

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Dinesh Karthik was asked whether Riyan Parag could be the player India has been searching for a batsman who can also bowl a few overs. Karthik said that he didn’t want to put undue pressure on Parag. He added that both Parag and Tilak Varma could become very special players for Indian cricket.

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