5 times when Dinesh Karthik made a comeback into the Indian team

Dinesh Karthik has walked back into the Indian team, once again and in many ways, this has exemplified the career of the Tamil Nadu-man.

He churns out runs for fun in the domestic circuit, gets his opportunity for the Indian team and then walks back into obscurity. However, with the national selectors looking to build a pool of players prior to the next World Cup, this opportunity meted out to Karthik could well be a critical one as far as his national ambitions are concerned.

Here in this article, we take a look at 5 instances when Karthik was recalled into the Indian team, almost out of nowhere.

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# India vs South Africa 2010

Karthik compiled a solid partnership with Sachin

The historical series when Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to score a double century in ODI cricket, Dinesh Karthik quietly scored his runs at the other end.

In the second match, when Sachin was cruising along, Karthik did not harm his chances as he crafted a sublime 79 at the other end and forged a 194 runs partnership with Tendulkar for the second wicket.

His selection for the series was not anticipated, but it was a choice picked on a hunch, and the spunky man did not disappoint.

#4 India tour of South Africa 2006

A young Karthik had a terrible start to his ODI career

Another series against South Africa, a young Dinesh Karthik was dropped after a rather iffy start to his ODI career. However, he was roped in for the tour to South Africa and was included in the ODI team which struggled against a rampant South African bowling.

However, he could not buck the trend and could only manage scores of 14, 17, and 11 in the 3 innings he played.

India did not have an entirely fruitful tour either and lost the 5-match series 4-0.

#3 Champions Trophy, 2013

A bumper start to the Champions Trophy

After being left out in the cold for close to three years, Dinesh Karthik was roped back into the Indian team for the Champions Trophy, after he had a bumper season with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

He carried his form into the tournament and made his intentions quite clear with two centuries in the two warm-up games before the tournament. He thus sealed his spot at the number 4 position and remained in the team for the next two seasons, before his form tapered away and thus was subsequently dropped from the national team once again.

#2 Champions Trophy, 2017

He sparkled in the warm-ups

Much like the 2013 edition, Karthik landed a surprise recall back into the Indian team for the 2017 Champions Trophy after he had a decent outing for the Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League, where he scored 361 runs in 14 matches.

However, he could not make a spot for himself in the playing XI, since the Indian team decided to stick with Yuvraj Singh at number 4, but the selectors had given enough indications that the veteran remained very much part of their plans.

He was given a game when India toured West Indies immediately after the tournament and responded with knocks of 2 and 50* in the two innings.

#1 India vs New Zealand 2017

Back in the mix

Even after scoring a match-winning half-century in his last match, Karthik was not included in the ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka and Australia.

This omission was quite puzzling considering the fact that the number 4 spot has not yet been sealed. Karthik responded by scoring a century in the finals of the Duleep Trophy and sent a timely reminder to the selectors about his pedigree and worth.

His rampant form was too overwhelming for him to be ignored and hence he got another spot in the Indian team for the ODI series against New Zealand, where he might get a chance to consolidate his position.