AB de Villiers says Dinesh Karthik makes him want to go back and play IPL: Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wicketkeeper batter AB de Villiers is in awe of Dinesh Karthik’s dazzling performance in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said he makes him feel like playing cricket once again.
Notably, Dinesh Karthik is turning out to be RCB’s one of the finest purchases in the player’s auction 2022. RCB acquired the services of veteran keeper Dinesh Karthik for INR 5.50 Crores after fighting bidding wars with a couple of teams.
The 36-years old cricketer has already slammed 197 in six IPL 2022 innings so far at a blistering strike rate of close to 200. On top of that, he has only been dismissed once in the tournament this season.
De Villiers praised the glovesman for his unbelievable consistency in the Tata IPL 2022.
“The form he is at this moment and he has already won RCB 2-3 games. He looks like he is in the form of his life. I don’t know where that comes from because he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. But man, he looks in good form and he plays around the wicket 360 degrees,” De Villiers was quoted by India Today.
The former Protea batter added that if Dinesh Karthik keeps continuing his sublime form, RCB can go way up in the tournament.
“He almost makes me feel like I want to go back and play some cricket again, watching him play. He gets me excited, plays under pressure in the middle order and he’s got a lot of experience and if he keeps his form up there is a good chance that RCB are going a long way up,” he added.
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Dinesh Karthik likes high-pressure situations: AB de Villiers
It’s important to note that Dinesh Karthik hasn’t been highly active in cricket in the last year or so. He played the IPL 2021 and was not involved in domestic cricket as well. To see him in such a fine form despite not playing cricket for a long time makes him one of the most dangerous batters.
“I was incredibly surprised and I didn’t expect it. I have always known that he is a very capable player, a nitty-gritty kind of a guy. He likes the high-pressure situations and he’s a busy player at the wicket. But he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. The last time I saw him before IPL he was commentating in the UK. He wasn’t playing a lot of domestic cricket and I thought he is possibly at the end of his career finishing. But he surprised us all I think with the intent and energy,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli, the former skipper of RCB, a day ago said that owing to his sensational form, Dinesh Karthik is not too far away from his national comeback. Kohli added that the Indian selectors would be keen on picking Karthik in the Indian T20 side for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
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