India vs Australia 2019: Twitter reacts to Dinesh Karthik's exclusion from the ODI squad

Today, the BCCI selection committee announced the squad for the ODI series against Australia and Dinesh Karthik failed to find a spot in the squad.

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer has been a part of the Indian cricket team since 2004. Unfortunately for him, MS Dhoni also made a debut in 2004, so Karthik hardly got an opportunity to showcase his talent as he was always considered as a wicket-keeper batsman.

He also has a great presence of mind and a tremendous hitting ability, which is clearly evident from his game and has been very consistent since 2018 in the ODIs for India.

He has performed well whenever he has gotten the opportunity. He had played both in the middle, and also did a great job as a finisher.

Indian chief selector MSK Prasad raised some hope for him when talking about India's World Cup plans. He said:

"We have shortlisted 18 players, and we will rotate them before selecting the final World Cup squad. As far as workload management is concerned, it is yet to be worked out. There are discussions happening on that front, and we will let you know."

This could bring a ray of hope, as they have announced only 16 players for the series against Australia. So there might be a possibility that Dinesh is still in contention for the mega event.

However, the exclusion of the wicket-keeper batsman did not go well among fans and cricket experts, as they felt that Karthik deserved the opportunity.

Here is what various people in the cricketing world said:

Harsha Bhogle:

Now that Rishabh Pant has been picked, and needs game time to be assessed for a World Cup spot, I wonder whose place he will get. Jadhav? Or Rayudu? Irrespective of that, I hope this is not a final decision on Dinesh Karthik because that will be very hard on him
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 15, 2019

Ayaz Memon:

Doors shut on @DineshKarthik and @imjadeja for the World Cup? Pant’s retention was expected. Biggest gainer has been Vijay Shankar. #IndiaCricketSelection
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 15, 2019

BCCI:

"We want to give enough chances to Pant before the World Cup" - MSK Prasad #TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/o13jma3yuE
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 15, 2019

Fans' reactions:

In last couple of years, certain players getting more opportunities to play for India despite inconsistencies and lots of players like Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair and now Dinesh Karthik treated unfairly and not getting enough chances. #sportstakofficial #cricbuzzlive #AakashVani
— Pankajsinha2706 (@Pankajsinha2701) February 15, 2019

We are with you @DineshKarthik ..Play well in T20 series against Australia.. We are still hope you will be wcsquad19
— Sakthivel Selvam (@sakthicare) February 15, 2019

Don't understand why Dinesh Karthik was dropped. He was in a form like no others in team, still dropped. It's really hard to be Dinesh Karthik. Perhaps, they would realise and consider him for world cup. Let's hope it.
— Manoj Gannerla (@Manoj_Gannerla) February 15, 2019

If Dinesh Karthik is not picked for Australia series, I think that's because he is already selected for World Cup. See no other reason.

The fight is in between Pant, Shankar and Rahul I believe@bhogleharsha @sanjaymanjrekar @GautamGambhir @cricketaakash @cricketwallah #AskStar
— Why that (@HeeZG0ne) February 15, 2019

Feeling sad for #DineshKarthik ........ He is the best finisher of India right now.
— pradeep Choudhary (@impradeep55) February 15, 2019

Dinesh karthik not there in the team.. what is this rotation policy.. the top three,Dhoni, bhuvi,bumrah and 2 wrist spinners and may be pandya.. only these are fixed.. middle order still big question mark
— Mahesh (@maheshhmayu) February 15, 2019

Actually he should not removed. He played very well. Even every indian fan feels for it. #DineshKarthik gonna miss in lower order for sure https://t.co/7exsJ36FvP
— 🍀Arvinder Singh BhuLlaR🍀💫 (@iAmBhullarr) February 15, 2019

Just because you feel Rishabh Pant is an X factor, you can’t drop someone who has been around with the team for last 18months. I just feel bad for Dinesh Karthik. Don’t know what else he needs to do, to be in Indian ODI setup. @DineshKarthik
— Prahalad (@prahaladkobla) February 15, 2019

India are set to play two T20Is and five ODIs against Australia. If Dinesh plays well in the T20I series, there would be a great chance that we see him playing in the 2019 World Cup.

One can only hope that the Tamil Nadu cricketer keeps the disappointment of omission from the ODi squad aside and focuses on the job at hand.