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Ravi Shastri comments on Dinesh Karthik's chances of making India's T20 World Cup squad

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri believes that veteran Dinesh Karthik can perform the finisher's role for the team at the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year. 


Karthik has recently earned a recall to the Indian side for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa on the back of his impressive performances for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022


The experienced wicketkeeper-batter has scored 330 runs in the cash-rich league at an excellent average of 55.00 and a stunning strike rate of 183.33. Meanwhile, during an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan’, Shastri was asked if he thought DK could make it for Team India's squad for the World Cup.


"You have to see from the team's point of view, what are they looking for? Do they want a keeper who will bat at the top of the order or do they want a keeper who will be the finisher? I will go for the latter. You need a keeper who will do MS Dhoni's role, let's put it that way," Shastri said on the show. 


The ex-Indian cricketer also stated that choosing Karthik as the second wicketkeeper in the squad would be a good choice.


"There is already Rishabh Pant who can bat in the top four or five in T20 cricket but you want someone who can keep and finish a game because they aren't too many finishers now with MS (Dhoni) having quit. So I think that's where his chances are very very good," Shastri explained. 


However, the ‘Men in Blue’ have struggled for the finisher's position ever since legendary wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni announced his retirement. With most of India's renowned batters playing in the top order for their respective franchises in the IPL, the team has struggled to find a reliable finisher, especially with Hardik Pandya's injury concerns. However, Shastri said that DK would have to showcase his skills again in the T20Is against South Africa for him to be in the squad for the mega event. 


"This is his opportunity. If and when he gets an opportunity in these games, he has to do it with India colors on. We know he has got the experience, so this becomes extremely vital," he concluded. 


However, it will be interesting to see how many games Karthik gets in the five-match series against the South Africa team. With Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan also in the team as wicketkeeper-batters, the veteran will have to grab the limited opportunities available.



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Prashant Solanki lauds MS Dhoni’s role during stint in IPL 2022

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) youngster, Prashant Solanki, has commented about skipper MS Dhoni's role during one of the games in the recently concluded tournament when he grabbed a couple of wickets against Rajasthan Royals (RR). In IPL 2022, CSK won just four of their 14 games, finishing with the same number of points (8) as the bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) but with a slightly superior net run-rate. The captaincy of the Chennai franchise was also a source of contention. CSK had a poor outing in the league, finishing ninth in the tournament. Dhoni handed up the captaincy of CSK to Ravindra Jadeja just before the start of the competition. However, because of CSK's dismal performance in IPL 2022, Jadeja returned the captaincy to Dhoni in the middle of the season. The merry-go-round didn't assist the team, but with Dhoni back at the helm, the team's fortunes improved for a time. That was only for a short time, as even Dhoni's Midas touch couldn't help CSK make the playoffs. With CSK's chances of making the playoffs all but nil, the squad opted to experiment with some fresh players. Prashant Solanki, a leg-spinner, was one of them. In CSK's penultimate match of the season, the 22-year-old made his IPL debut. MSD played a key role in the two wickets he took against RR, according to the CSK youngster. "In the second game, I came in to bowl a bit late because we didn't have a big total and he was shuffling the bowlers around. I was hit for a six off my first ball. Then he (Dhoni) indicated that I have to pull my length back and keep it a little shorter. Let him play strokes on the bigger end. Then I was successful," Solanki said while speaking to Sportskeeda. "He (Hetmyer) hit me for a boundary and then Mahi bhai indicated to me once again to use the bigger side of the ground. I bowled the top spinner on his legs and he miscued it and was out on deep mid-wicket,” he added. Dhoni, who has led the Super Kings to four IPL titles, gave a major update on his IPL future. Dhoni was asked about his future plans before the toss in the match against RR. The former Indian cricket skipper stated that he will strive hard to return next season in his unique flair.