KKR batsman will miss the IPL Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians on Friday
Internet Desk: Tamil Nadu Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik will replace an injured Manish Pandey in the Champions Trophy squad for India. The Kolkata Knight Rider’s batsman suffered a side strain during the team’s practice session on the eve of their IPL Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dinesh Karthik got rewarded for his fine domestic performance. The southpaw played superb knocks in the finals of Vijay Hazare and Deodhar Trophy, helping Tamil Nadu to clinch the title. He scored hundreds in both the finals and was awarded the Man of the Matches.
The 31-year-old was one of the players on standby along with Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur.
Karthik will be making a comeback in the India team after almost 3 years. He last played for India in the Asia Cup against Afghanistan in 2014. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper/batsman looked in fine touch during Gujarat Lions’ campaign scoring 361 runs in 14 games at an average of 36.10 and a strike rate of 139.38.
It will be unfortunate for Manish Pandey to miss out playing for India in the Champions Trophy. The KKR batsman was in good form in the IPL, scoring almost 400 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 128.57. He has also been ruled out for Friday’s IPL Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians.
Pandey last featured for India in the 2nd T20I against England in January earlier this year, which the hosts won by five runs. His last ODI was during the five-match series at home against New Zealand, which India won 3-2.
India play two warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh on May 28 and May 30, before beginning their title defence on June 4 against Pakistan. They then take on Sri Lanka on June 8 before playing their final group game against South Africa on June 11.
Indian Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Dinesh Karthik.