Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik PC- Twitter

Former Indian cricketer Rohan Gavaskar opted for Dinesh Karthik to keep the wickets during India’s upcoming two T20I matches against Ireland. All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead a second-string Indian squad for the two-match series in Ireland as the core players are gearing up for the fifth rescheduled Test against England.

 The 17-member India squad for Ireland T20Is consists of three options for wicket-keeping as regular keeper Rishabh Pant is with the Test side in England. In Pant’s absence, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are the alternatives to don the gloves behind the stumps. 

I will go with DK: Rohan Gavaskar

Rohan Gavaskar, who played 11 One-Day International matches for India, said veteran player Karthik should keep the wickets and let the other two purely play as batters in the playing XI.

“You can play all three of them, but in terms of wicketkeeping, I will go with DK and I will have Sanju Samson and Ishan in the playing XI. But behind the stumps, I will go with DK,” Rohan told Sports 18. 

Rohan Gavaskar and Sunil Gavaskar
Rohan Gavaskar and Sunil Gavaskar. Image: Twitter

Dinesh Karthik after returning to the Indian team

Karthik returned to the Indian side after three years on the phenomenal success of the IPL 2022 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), scoring 330 runs in 16 innings at 55 and a strike rate of 183.33. 

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Karthik replicated his heroics for the Indian side as he scored his maiden T20I half-century in the fourth match despite making his debut in India’s first T20I match against South Africa in 2006. Karthik slammed 55 off 27 balls to power India to a respectable 169/6 and they eventually won by 82 runs to level the series 2-2.

Dinesh Karthik. PC- BCCI
Dinesh Karthik. PC- BCCI

India will play Ireland in the first T20 International match on June 26 at the Village in Dublin.

India squad for Ireland T20I series: Hardik Pandya (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi.

Also Read: India vs Ireland Prediction: Who Will Win The Match Between India And Ireland? IND vs IRE, 1st T20I