After losing the first two matches in Delhi and Cuttack, Team India faced the daunting task of winning their next three games against South Africa to avoid a series defeat at home. The way Rishabh Pant and his boys had performed in the national capital and Odisha, not many gave the home team a chance. But the Indian cricket team bounced back in style, beating the visitors in the following two matches quite comfortably. While in the third match in Visakhapatnam it was Yuzvendra Chahal who was the hero of India's win as he rattled the Proteas batters with his spin, guile, and loop, picking up three wickets, in Rajkot, it was Dinesh Karthik who was the architect in chief of the Men in Blue's triumph. The Tamil Nadu batter smashed a magnificent 55 off only 27 balls to help India to 169/6 before Avesh Khan wreaked havoc on the South African batters to secure India's second consecutive win in the series. But it was Dinesh Karthik's knock that stole the limelight, earning much appreciation from several quarters, including from the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Dale Steyn. With Dinesh Karthik proving to be the finisher India needed desperately for a long time, former India coach Sanjay Bangar has now revealed that the veteran wicketkeeper batter has put in a lot of hard work to achieve what he's accomplishing at the moment.

Dinesh Karthik wasn't even in the Indian cricket team's scheme of things before the Indian Premier League (IPL). He had last donned the Team India jersey back in 2019. But a new IPL season with a new franchise came as a blessing in disguise for him as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) asked him to finish games for them. Dinesh Karthik took up the challenge and did exceptionally well in his role, ending the competition with 330 runs in 16 games at a stunning rate of over 183.

Subsequently, the Indian selectors called him back to the national squad and Sanjay Bangar who was RCB's head coach in the 15th edition of the IPL has now revealed that Dinesh Karthik played domestic cricket, often local T20 events to improve his game when he was not getting opportunities to represent India at the international level.

“He has the hunger. When he wasn't playing in the IPL, he played a lot in domestic T20 cricket. When even those matches were over, he went to Madurai and many other places to play local cricket. He wanted to practice in open wickets, as much as he could. And he is now reaping the rewards of his hard work. He has set a standard by showing such grit, determination and brilliance to make a return to the Indian team,” Bangar told Star Sports.

“Many a time, statistics can be misleading. I remember the game against RR where Ashwin and Chahal were bowling; the stats showed that Karthik wasn't strong against spin, but he proved it wrong. The main difference between the previous season and this one was that he came with a positive approach. He wanted to take on the spinners. You would've noticed, he attempted shots like sweep, reverse-sweep, slog-sweep to perfection against spin bowlers,” Sanjay Bangar, who was the batting coach of the Indian cricket team from 2014 to 2019 added.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik who was adjudged the Man of the Match for his record-breaking display of power-hitting against South Africa in Rajkot, said that he was extremely happy to return to the national team.

“I am very happy, very proud. It's an incredible atmosphere and team to be part of,” he said in a video posted on BCCI's Twitter handle. “For about three years, I've been looking from outside. I've been looking at how special feeling it must be to be a part of this team. I am enjoying and very grateful for every second I am here.”

“I think, I've been dropped so many times and I always wanted to make a comeback into the Indian team,” he explained. “I think that has been my biggest drive, whenever, whether I've played domestic, whether I've played IPL.”

“The urge, the fire in the belly in terms of wanting to come back here, wear the national colours and represent the India team is something that I dream of everyday, and that is what has kept me going consistently in the last decade or so,” Dinesh Karthik claimed.

Notably, Dinesh Karthik was a part of the Indian team that played the country's first T20I back in 2006.

India had won that encounter against the Proteas after Dinesh Karthik's heroics with the bat. In a low-scoring game, Dinesh Karthik's 31 off 28 balls took the Indians over the finish line as they went on to chase the South African total of 127 in Johannesburg.

“It's almost a decade and a half, a lot of things have changed. It's a good feeling to know that you have played the first T20I for the country and now you are playing South Africa again. It's a lovely feeling,” he continued.

“I have always found ways to try and enhance my game. I had people around me who have really helped me in my journey. They are some very special people. They have also been part of the journey, part of the ups and downs and the fact that I have always wanted to get back to the Indian colours. The shining light in my life for a very long time,” Dinesh Karthik signed off.