ICC’s next big tournament, the 2024 T20 World Cup, will kick off in the USA and West Indies on 2 June. Ahead of the marquee event, there has been a lot of talk about who will find a place in India’s 15-member squad for the World Cup. While Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are all but certain to make the squad, there is plenty of competition for other places. One of the key points of contention in cricketing circles is who would keep the wickets for India in the World Cup, with several prominent names in the race including Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik.
RCB batter Dinesh Karthik‘s recent form has brought an inordinate amount of attention to the 38-year-old batsman, with many critics arguing that DK will be a perfect fit for India during the T20 World Cup. Karthik has scored 251 runs in the 8 matches so far at a strike rate of 196.09, an average of 62.75 and a highest score of 83.
Apart from Karthik, former India skipper and CSK batter MS Dhoni has also been a hit with the fans this season. The veteran opener has scored 87 runs at a strike rate of 255 in the 7 matches played so far and has been giving the bowlers a tough time in the final few overs of the game.
Virendra Sehwag backs MS Dhoni for India’s World Cup side:
In an interaction on Cricbuzz, Virendra Sehwag made a case for MS Dhoni playing for India in the T20 World Cup. He said, “Inka (MS Dhoni) 255 ka strike rate hai aur ausat (average) hai he nahi kyuki out he nahi hua hai banda. 34 gendo mei 87 runs banaye hai abhi tak. T20 World Cup mei jo humara schedule hai, jisme hum khelenge. Kitni achi teams se khelenge pehle round mei? Pehle round mei toh batting he nahi aani. (MS Dhoni has a strike of 255 and doesn’t have an average because he hasn’t been dismissed yet. He has hit 87 runs in 34 balls this season. The kind of schedule we have for the T20 World Cup, how many good teams will we be playing against? He won’t get to bat in the first round.”
“Sirf keeping he karni hai, vo toh waha bhi kar rahe hai vo (Dhoni). Jo batting aani hai vo toh 3 he teams ke khilaf aani hai: Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Pakistan bhi mei itna nahi maan raha lekin chalo Pakistan bhi le lo toh 4 teams ke khilaaf he batting aani hai vo bhi last ke 3 overs mei. Toh inse behtar kaun hai phir? (He will only have to keep, which he is already doing (for CSK). (Dhoni’s) batting will come only against 3 teams: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Even if you consider Pakistan, he will have to bat against 4 teams and only in the last 3 overs. Who is better than him then?” the former Indian bater added.
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