England vs India: Dinesh Karthik may stay back for the Test series

The ODI series between England and India is currently taking place and the Men in Blue are leading the series 1-0. The second match will be played today at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. A number of players found their way into the limited-overs squad on the back of some stupendous performances in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), 33-year-old Dinesh Karthik is one of them.

However, he has played only one match in the tour of the United Kingdom when MS Dhoni was benched for the second T20I at the Malahide Cricket Ground in Dublin. To his despair, he didn’t get an opportunity with the willow. However, in a recent development, it has been learned that the Tamil Nadu-born wicketkeeper-batsman may stay back for the Test series as per reports in The Times of India (TOI).

How can Karthik stake his claim in the team?

Karthik was with the Test team when India, led by Ajinkya Rahane, played the historic encounter against Afghanistan at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. He could score only four runs in the contest and was run-out. He was drafted in for Bengal cricketer Wriddhiman Saha, who was ruled out of the match owing to a thumb injury he suffered during the IPL, representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The 33-year-old was hit by Shivam Mavi after which another Bengal keeper Shreevats Goswami replaced him. Saha is yet to recover from the injury and hence his participation in the upcoming Test series is under the clouds. The first Test will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 1.

Meanwhile, Karthik will be hoping to get into the playing eleven and display in mettle on English soil. He made his international debut at Lord’s itself in 2004. He wasn’t in the reckoning for a national team- selection a year earlier, but the last few months have reignited his career again.

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