'Dreams do come true' - Dinesh Karthik thrilled with his inclusion in India's T20 World Cup squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on September 12, Monday, announced the 15-member squad of India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. And the wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik could not hide his excitement over his inclusion in the team, as he called it a “dream come true”.

The Indian cricketing fraternity, including the players, were eagerly waiting in unison for the announcement of the World Cup squad. Karthik, who has emerged as one of the best finishers in the country, has been deservedly given a spot in the Indian team. He is India’s longest-serving player in the T20Is and was also part of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 which India won.

It all began following a successful outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Karthik, where he scored 330 runs in 16 matches at a staggering strike rate of 183.33 and an average of 55.55. This earned him a comeback into the Indian team, playing his first game against South Africa in June since February 2019. He has only played the role of a finisher for the Men in Blue, scoring 193 runs with a strike rate of 133.10 in 18 games ever since.

Dreams do come true 💙

— DK (@DineshKarthik) September 12, 2022

Rishabh Pant makes the squad, Sanju Samson misses out

Meanwhile, the Indian management have made some surprising omissions from the squad such as Sanju Samson and Avesh Khan among others. And star pacers Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami are among standby players, along with Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi. One of the surprise inclusions has been Rishabh Pant, who has been struggling for runs in the T20I circuit, scoring only 311 runs in 16 games at an average of 25.91.

The squad consists of the top-order batters Virat Kohli and Deepak Hooda, with the middle-order of Suryakumar Yadav, and wicketkeeper-batters Dinesh Karthik and Pant. The bowling department comprises pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel, and spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. India have two all-rounders in the squad,  Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya.