At the age of 37, Dinesh Karthik has scripted an inspiring fairy tale. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has been away from reporting in any of the three formats and actually made his commentary debut when the Indian side toured England for a Test series last year. But within seven months, Karthik scripted an epic comeback in fashion. He impressed the selectors with his finishing skills in the IPL before earning a call-up to the Indian team and Karthik has not looked back as he made the squads for both the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. But what’s next for Karthik after the T20 World Cup?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors on Sunday announced the squad for the T20I series against New Zealand, which will begin from October 19, about a week after the T20 World Cup campaign. Karthik was not picked for the series as selectors Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson had wicket-keeping options. Does this mean the end of Karthik’s career in India?
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BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma said shortly after revealing the squads that Karthik was not selected to address his workload problem, but added that the selectors are now looking forward to organizing the next edition of the World Cup differently.
“We focus on workload management. Dinesh Karthik was not picked but he is ready to be picked. We want to use a different setup after the T20 World Cup. The door is open for him,” he said.
The next T20 World Cup will be held in 2024 between West Indies and the United States, and Karthik will be 39 years old then.
Karthik is currently part of the T20 World Cup campaign and has played three matches for India ahead of Pant.