"Makes me feel like I want to go back and play cricket again" - AB de Villiers on Dinesh Karthik's form in IPL 2022
Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star AB de Villiers has been highly impressed with Dinesh Karthik this season.
RCB had a huge hole in their middle-order when De Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. However, Dinesh Karthik has proved to be an ideal replacement in the role of a finisher so far. In just seven games, the 36-year-old has scored 210 runs at a mind-boggling average of 210 and a fantastic strike rate of 205.88.
Speaking on the YouTube channel 'VUSport Streaming', here's what AB de Villiers had to say about Dinesh Karthik's unreal form:
"(On Dinesh Karthik) I think he has won 2-3 games for RCB already and he is in the form of his life. I don't know where that comes from because he hasn't played a lot of cricket. But he played all around the wicket, 360 degrees and it almost makes me feel like I want to go back and play cricket again."
Ab de Villiers also feels that if Karthik is able to maintain his consistency, RCB could once again be able to go deep into the tournament. He added:
"He gets me excited. He bats under a lot of pressure in the middle-order. He has a lot of experience. If he keeps his form, RCB have a good chance of going a long way here."
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"I thought he was possibly at the end of his career" - AB de Villiers on Dinesh Karthik
As much as AB de Villiers was impressed with the way Dinesh Karthik was batting, he didn't expect it at first. This was due to the small amount of cricket that the 36-year-old had played coming into the tournament.
As Dinesh Karthik made his commentary debut, Ab de Villiers felt that was probably the beginning of the end of the 36-year-old's cricketing career. However, the 38-year-old was presently surprised with the way Karthik made a statement with his incredible form. On this, De Villiers stated:
"I am incredibly surprised. I didn't expect it. I have always known he is a very capable player and likes high-pressure situations. But he hasn't played a lot of cricket. I remember before the last IPL he was commentating in the UK. He didn't play a lot of domestic cricket. So I thought he is possibly at the end of his career, finishing up. But when a player brings that hunger and passion, he becomes dangerous."
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No matter what if we win this IPL or not. Someone give this man a place in team India for T20 world cup! #dineshkarthik https://t.co/ncUxG9Y82A
It looks like RCB have given Karthik a clear role in the IPL team which is bringing the best out of him. If he manages to sustain this form throughout the season, the 36-year-old could well be back in the reckoning for India's T20 World Cup squad.