Salman Butt, a former cricketer for Pakistan, praised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for choosing Dinesh Karthik, 37, while sharply attacking the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
A Pakistani cricketer lauds DK
Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt, 37, feels that the latter wouldn’t have found a place even in domestic cricket in Pakistan. The statement comes after Karthik’s heroics in the 1st T20I against West Indies on Friday.
“Luckily, Dinesh Karthik is born in India. At his age, he can’t even play domestic cricket in Pakistan,” he said.
Butt further said that the Indian cricket team are ‘damn’ serious about their bench strength to prepare for the future. He feels that the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Arshdeep Singh have started to deliver on the biggest stage.
“Youngsters are playing very well for India. They are damn serious about their bench strength for years to come. They have constructed an amazing team. Shubman Gill was quite impressive [in ODIs]; Dinesh Karthik is playing as a finisher [in T20Is]. The batsmen in between like Suryakumar Yadav improving day by day, and Shreyas Iyer is available. Arshdeep Singh is bowling well. Overall, there is plenty of talent,” the former cricketer added.
DK’s performance
These comments come in after Karthik’s firework in the death overs helped the Indian team to register a 68-run victory over West Indies in the first T20I in Trinidad on Friday (July 29).
After losing the toss and being put into bat first, India’s captain Rohit Sharma led from the front and slammed a half-century (64 off 44 balls), his 27th in T20Is, and also became the highest run-scorer in the 20-over format.
Despite losing a couple of wickets quickly, the men in blue were able to post 190/6 in 20 overs because of Karthik’s destructive knock of 41* off just 19 balls at an unbelievable strike rate of 215.79.
In reply, the West Indies were restricted to 122/8 in 20 overs.
