India coach Rahul Dravid addressed the press conference on Tuesday, 7 June ahead of the five-match T20I series against South Africa.
After the completion of the IPL, the team is currently camped in Delhi, where they will play the first game of the series before the action heads to Cuttack, Visakapatnam, Rajkot and then Bengaluru.
While there are plenty of new faces in the squad, there are a few familiar old ones returning to the India setup, including Dinesh Karthik.
Karthik, who has played 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is, hasn’t played in the shortest format for India since 2019. However, a brilliant IPL, where he scored 330 runs for RCB in 16 matches at a strike rate of 183, made it difficult for the selectors to ignore him.
Speaking on what sort of role Karthik is expected to play, Rahul Dravid said that Karthik will be expected to play the same role that has helped him force his way back into the Indian side.
“With Dinesh, it’s pretty obvious,” said Dravid. “It’s very clear that he has made a comeback based on the skills that he has shown in a particular phase of the game. At that backend, Dinesh has really been able to show great consistency for the last 2 to 3 years. He has been able to make a difference in whichever team he has played.
“I don’t see it any different and that’s why he has been picked. He has been picked to bat in that kind of position and see whether he can replicate those kind of performances for India.”
Dravid was excited to have Hardik back into the mix, both as a batter and bowler but hinted at him playing a different role to the one he played with Gujarat where he batted higher at No.4.
“It’s really pleasing to have him back,” said Dravid. “Hardik at his best is a fantastic cricketer with the bat and ball. We have seen that with India in the past. Obviously, he has been successful in white-ball cricket and has shown really good form in this IPL.
“Without giving too much away about the batting orders before the game starts, sometimes the roles that you play with the franchise match the roles that you play for India but sometimes you have to play different roles for different teams.
“Based on our team combination and the players who are already established in certain positions, that can happen from time to time.”
Dravid was excited to have the youngster in the squad but suggested that patience would be key in his growth as a player.
“Yeah, it is exciting. He certainly bowled quick and with pace”, said Dravid. “Another exciting thing for me was watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling really fast. And obviously, being the coach of all three formats of the game, I would love to see that translated into the longer formats of the game. But it is brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace.
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