"Took my spot in India playing XI, and now has taken it at Wimbledon too" - Rohan Gavaskar on Dinesh Karthik's trip with Sunil Gavaskar
Rohan Gavaskar, the former India cricketer and son of legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar, took a friendly dig at Dinesh Karthik on Saturday.
Reacting to Karthik's photo alongside Sunil Gavaskar from Wimbledon, Rohan Gavaskar humorously recalled how the wicketkeeper-batsman once "took his spot" in India's playing XI and has now done it again at the premier tennis tournament. Rohan tweeted:
"When DK (Dinesh Karthik) made his debut for India, he took my spot in the playing XI against England. He has now taken my spot at Wimbledon too (laughing emojis) Hope you guys had some strawberries and cream and washed it down with some pimms, buddy."
Dinesh Karthik and Sunil Gavaskar, who turns 72 today, are on commentary duty in England. Both represented India in the ICC elite panel for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and are now staying back in England for further broadcast stints.
Rohan Gavaskar played 11 ODIs for India, scoring 151 runs, with his highest score being 54. Dinesh Karthik replaced him in India's middle order during Team India's tour of England in 2004. Rohan was given another chance in the 2004 Champions Trophy, but a failure there was the final nail of his international career.
Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, went on to play 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India and is still hopeful of making a final comeback in the shortest format.
Rohan Gavaskar backs Team India to bounce back after WTC final loss
Much like Dinesh Karthik, Rohan Gavaskar veered down the commentary path as well and is now regarded as one of the most venerable voices, especially in domestic cricket.
In a recent interview, the 45-year-old pundit backed India to come back strongly following their eight-wicket loss to New Zealand in the WTC final, suggesting that the defeat should not be seen separately from the overall fine performances in the two-year-long tournament. Rohan Gavaskar said on the YouTube channel 'Cricket Life Stories':
"This is an excellent cricket side. You've got quality cricketers in this team. Yes New Zealand were better than us in that Test but that doesn't take away anything from the fact that we have done well in the last couple of years."
India will play a five-Test series against England, starting at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on August 4.