Dinesh Karthik ready to return for Tuti Patriots in the ongoing TNPL

Indian wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik will be seen in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) again. The cricketer is ready to make a return for his team Tuti Patriots who were crowned the champions in the previous edition. Karthik decided to keep away from cricket for a short while after the national team returned from the Caribbean playing 5 One Day Internationals and a T20 international. The news was confirmed on Twitter by a tweet from the official TNPL handle.

Karthik faired decently against the West Indies in the 3 matches he got to play. The batsman registered scores of 2 and 50 in two 50 over games while he scored 48 runs in the T20 encounter. India won the ODI series games to 1 but the West Indies prevailed in the T20 match.

However, The Tuti Patriots will get a major boost as the experienced batsman is all set to make his presence felt in this edition of the TNPL. The Patriots have started the competition with a band with 2 wins from the 2 games they have played. The defending champions currently stand at the top of the table with Karaikudi Kalaai in the second position.

Background:

Dinesh Karthik had a short but an excellent campaign with the Patriots last year. Karthik scored a staggering 170 runs from the 3 matches that he played at an average of 56.66. His scores in the three matches were 67*, 48 and 55*. His knock of 55 rode the Tuti Patriots to the victory in the grand finale.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s career nearing its end, the door has opened for Dinesh Karthik once again to cement a spot in the national team. However, Karthik also does not have his age on his side as the batsman is now 31 years old. He also has strong competition from the young Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. While Wriddhiman is the first choice wicketkeeper as far as Tests are concerned, MS Dhoni wears the gloves in the limited over formats.