[In Pictures] Comeback man Dinesh Karthik shares pictures from Team India camp
Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has shared pictures from the Team India camp in Delhi on Monday ahead of the five-match T20I series against South Africa.
The Men in Blue are currently preparing for the series opener, which will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, June 9. The series marks Karthik's comeback to the Indian team for the first time since 2019.
He was dropped from the white-ball squad following the team’s exit from the 50-over World Cup after they lost to New Zealand in the semi-final.
The 37-year-old shared pictures of his interactions with other members of the Team India contingent on his Twitter handle. In one of the images, he is seen sharing a light moment with Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravi Bishnoi and newcomer Umran Malik.
Karthik shared the pictures with a cheeky caption, “Del-Hi”, and a waving hand sign emoji.
Del-Hi 👋 https://t.co/JUeGYH5qvS
The experienced gloveman earned a recall to the Indian team on the back of an excellent season with the bat for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022. Playing the role of finisher, he smashed 330 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 183.33.
No place for Dinesh Karthik in Ravi Shastri's preferred playing XI for 1st T20I
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently picked his preferred Team India XI for the series opener against the South Africans in Delhi on June 9. There was no place for Dinesh Karthik in Shastri’s playing XI.
Shastri was quoted as saying on Star Sports’ show 'Game Plan':
"I think they will go with the guys they will want to see first - the Rahuls, the Ruturaj Gaikwads - maybe they will open. They will probably give Ishan (Kishan) a break in this game or bat him at three."
The former India all-rounder added:
"If you bat him (Ishan) at three, then it will be Shreyas (Iyer) at No. 4, (Rishabh) Pant at No. 5 and Hardik (Pandya) at No. 6. No. 7 will be Axar Patel. I think eight will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar batting-wise, then Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik and Harshal Patel. Umran or Arshdeep depending on the ground and what the pitch is like.”
First practice session ✅
Snapshots from #TeamIndia's training at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. 👍 👍
#INDvSA | @Paytm https://t.co/6v0Ik5nydJ
Ravi Shastri's India XI for 1st T20I vs SA: KL Rahul (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik, Harshal Patel.