IND vs SA: How Do You See He's Not Going To Be Able To Play? – Sunil Gavaskar Indirectly Slams Gautam Gambhir For Dinesh Karthik's T20 World Cup Chances Statement

Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar has indirectly slammed former India opener Gautam Gambhir for his comments on veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik’s T20 World Cup 2022 chances.

Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik made a comeback to the Indian T20I team after his remarkable performance for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

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Since making his comeback to the side he has done a good job and he scored his maiden T20I half-century in the 4th T20I of the five-match series against South Africa. Also, he won the Player of the Match award for his performance.

Meanwhile, former India opener Gambhir, speaking after the second T20I between India and South Africa, had said that there is no point in giving a place to Karthik in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad if he doesn’t have a place in the playing XI.

“Too early to say. T20 World Cup is far ahead. He needs to consistently perform till then but if he wants to bat only in the last three overs, things could get tough. India will definitely be looking at someone in the top 7 who can bowl and if Axar is batting at 7, the team would be a batter short,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ Match Point.

“In such a case I would not have him (Karthik) in the World Cup Squad. I would definitely have people like Rishabh Pant, and Deepak Hooda (in the team). We have got KL Rahul, we’ve got Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma. Once they come back, it’s going to be tough for Dinesh Karthik to find a place in the playing XI. If he doesn’t have a place in the playing XI, there’s no point giving him a place in the squad,” Gambhir further said.

How Do You See He’s Not Going To Be Able To Play? – Sunil Gavaskar Indirectly Slams Gautam Gambhir

Speaking after the 4th T20I match between India and South Africa, Gavaskar responded to Gambhir’s comments on Karthik’s T20 World Cup chances without taking the name of the former India opener.

“I know people are talking about how can you include him in the team when he’s not going to play. How do you see he’s not going to be able to play? He could be the guy you want. You look at the form and not reputations, names and then you pick the guy,” Gavaskar said in the post-match show on Star Sports on Friday.

Gavaskar further showered praise on Karthik for performing well consistently and said that age should not be a factor while considering him for selection to the Indian T20 World Cup squad.

“He (Dinesh Karthik) doesn’t get too many opportunities, bats at No. 6 and 7. You can’t expect him to get 50 regularly. He’ll get you a good 40 in 20 deliveries and that’s what he has been doing consistently. He the exactly the same thing again and that is the reason why he’s very much in contention for a place in the World Cup squad. 

“The way he got runs today, India were down and out. It showed great character, showed great determination, and showed great sense of purpose. He’s desperate to play for India again. I think that might be his swansong. I know there’s a 50-overs World Cup next year and he might want to be available for that as well. But whatever it is, don’t look at the man’s age, look at the performances,” he said.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Twitter Reacts As Dinesh Karthik Smashes First T20I Fifty Of His Career

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