Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Dinesh Karthik (DK) was the toast of the Indian Premier League (IPL), earning accolades for his heroics as a “finisher”, but former Team India fast bowler RP Singh isn't impressed.
According to RP Singh, Dinesh Karthik has had his opportunities but he failed to cement his place in the Indian cricket team.
RP Singh was furious with Dinesh Karthik's return to Team India as he would now occupy a place in the side that could have been taken by a youngster.
Dinesh Karthik has been in and out of the Indian cricket team since making his debut back in 2004 and taking a dig at his numerous comebacks, RP Singh advised him against making another.
“Dinesh Karthik has had 10-15 comebacks, if he couldn't establish himself then, why make a comeback again,” RP Singh told India TV in an exclusive chat.
RP Singh's comments about Dinesh Karthik come after the 37-year-old was named in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.
However, Dinesh Karthik was included in the national squad after he had a splendid run in the IPL performing the “finisher” role to near perfection for the RCB.
Karthik was the main man behind RCB’s run to the playoffs after he secured seven wins for them in their initial twelve matches, having scored 274 runs for Faf du Plessis' side at an extraordinary strike rate of 200 and a highly impressive average of 68.50.
His clean striking became the talk of the competition, leading to his comparisons with the legendary MS Dhoni who is widely regarded as the “greatest finisher” the sport has ever seen.
The 37-year-old eventually finished the cash-rich league with 330 runs in 16 games with the highest score of 66 not out and a superb strike rate of 183.33.
Due to his whirlwind knocks in the IPL, DK was named the “Super Striker of the Season”, becoming the first Indian in the 15-year history of the IPL to claim the prestigious award.
Unlike Dinesh Karthik, Srinagar-born express fast bowler Umran Malik who earned his maiden Team India call-up for the series against the Proteas was successful in impressing RP Singh.
“He impressed me very much. He has the pace, and nothing can get better than that. But with pace, he needs to focus on other things too. Only pace won't help. He shouldn't just be a single-season wonder. He should be groomed well. He has just started his career, there's a long way to go. There are a lot of boxes for him to tick. His real test will be how he tackles his fitness, and if he gets injured, how he comes back from that,” Singh said.
RP Singh's remarks, however, sounded quite similar to Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi's view who recently undermined the importance of pace in international cricket.
“Speed can't help you if you don't have line and length and swing,” Afridi said about Umran Malik and New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson's speed in the IPL during a press conference ahead of Babar Azam and company's ODI series against the West Indies.
“I haven't thought about bowling so fast. I personally believe speed is of no use. If you don't have line, length, and swing, you can’t beat the batter easily. Nevertheless, I try to focus on my fitness so that my pace can also increase. Hopefully, I will be able to generate more pace and my line and length will also get better,” the 22-year-old left-arm speedster added.
While RP Singh was against Dinesh Karthik's inclusion in Team India and suggested Umran Malik work on other aspects of his game, excluding blistering pace as it would not always help him in getting wickets, the retired cricket star was surprisingly optimistic about Virat Kohli's return to form.
Kohli's numbers in IPL 2022 were dismal, to say the least. The ex-India captain finished the prestigious tournament with only 341 runs in 16 matches.
If one analyses Kohli's numbers further, it would feature three golden ducks (first ball dismissals), three scores of less than 10, and two half-centuries in what was an extremely disappointing campaign for the Delhi-born batter in the cash-rich league.
“I think the time hasn't been kind to Virat. It will take time for him to come back. T20 isn't a good format to come back in form. If you want your form back, it's natural to play more balls, but the format is wrong. If it was ODI or Test, he would have done well,” the former Uttar Pradesh speedster insisted as he explained his IPL failures.
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