'If you've brought Karthik in..': Suresh Raina questions veteran batter's exclusion from India's T20I squad
Suresh Raina questioned veteran batter's exclusion from India's T20I squad. | Photo - IPL |
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced Team India's squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa at home. India will take on South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting on June 09 after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
While senior players like Virat Kohli, captain Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah were rested from the T20I series, several youngsters also made the cut in the squad owing to their impressive performances in IPL 2022. Young pacers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh were handed their maiden call ups for the T20I series.
Among the biggest talking points from the squad announcement was the return of Dinesh Karthik to the Indian squad after a gap of three years. Karthik last featured for India during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England and has managed to make his comeback tothe team owing to his finishing exploits for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022.
Besides Karthik, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya also made his comeback after a long layoff while the likes of Ishan Kishan and Venkatesh Iyer were selected despite average performances from the duo this season. The likes of Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi and Shikhar Dhawan were among the notable exclusions from the squad.
Former India batter Suresh Raina questioned Dhawan's absence from the squad despite the veteran batter's prolific run in the ongoing season. Dhawan finished as the highest run-getter for Punjab Kings this season amassing 460 runs in 14 games at an average of38.33 and a strike rate of over 122.
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Raina believes Dhawan also deserved a spot in India's T20I squad if Karthik was picked after his performances this season. The former India batter said Dhawan must be sad over his non-selection as he has been scoring runs consistently for the last few seasons.
"Obviously, Shikhar would have been disappointed. Every captain wants a player like him in the team. He is fun loving person who brightens up the environment. And he has always scored runs - be it domestic, international or T20," Raina said on Star Sports.
"If you've brought Dinesh Karthik back in the team, Shikhar Dhawan deserved a place too. He has performed runs the last 3-4 years and has scored runs non-stop. Somewhere deep down, he must be sad," he added.
Dhawan had lost his opening slot to KL Rahul in both ODIs and T20Is before the emergence of the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan ensured he didn't get a chance to make his comeback in the team despite his purple patch in the IPL. Kishan, Rahul and Gaikwad are the three openers India have selected for the T20I series against South Africa.