3 teammates of Dinesh Karthik from 2007 T20 World Cup winning team who are yet to retire
Dinesh Karthik has grabbed the headlines after his fantastic comeback to the Indian T20I cricket team. The veteran wicket-keeper batter had a stellar IPL season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, leading to a return to the Indian T20I squad after a gap of almost three years.
Karthik made an instant impact as he notched up his career's maiden T20I fifty against the Proteas. He has retained his place in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against the Ireland cricket team.
Many fans would know that Dinesh Karthik was a part of the Indian playing XI that played in the nation's first-ever T20I against South Africa back in 2006. In fact, he was the Man of the Match in that contest. The player himself mentioned in a recent interview how the other 21 players from that game have retired from international cricket.
A year later, Karthik played for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2007, where the Men in Blue ended up as the champions. Only three of Karthik's teammates are still active in international cricket. Here's a list of those three names:
#1 Rohit Sharma
Current Indian captain Rohit Sharma recently completed 15 years in international cricket. He made his ODI debut against Ireland on June 23, 2007. A few months later, Rohit made his T20I debut in the ICC T20 World Cup.
Rohit impressed straightaway and played some important knocks for the Men in Blue. He showed no nerves at all as he scored a match-winning fifty in a do-or-die match against hosts South Africa during the Super 8s round.
Sharma and Dinesh Karthik are likely to play for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. They will be keen to win another trophy for the nation.
#2 Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla was 18 years old when he was named in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2007. Fans expected him to be the 'X-factor' for the Indian team, but the right-arm leg-spinner did not get a single game in the tournament.
Interestingly, Chawla did not make his T20I debut until the ICC T20 World Cup 2010. He played his debut T20I almost three years after winning the ICC T20 World Cup title.
Chawla has not played for the Indian team since 2012, but the 33-year-old could make a comeback like Dinesh Karthik if he performs well in domestic cricket.
#3 Robin Uthappa
Veteran Indian batter Robin Uthappa made his T20I debut during the ICC T20 World Cup 2007. He was an important middle-order batter for the Men in Blue in that mega event. Uthappa owns the record for being the first Indian to score a fifty in a T20 World Cup match.
Fans will also remember how he executed his plan to perfection in the bowl-out against Pakistan and helped India win. Uthappa is yet to retire from international cricket, but his last game for India came in 2015.