“He deserves to captain India” – Dinesh Karthik picks his Tamil Nadu teammate to lead second-string Indian team at Asian Games

Dinesh Karthik, who last played for Team India at the T20 World Cup, has backed ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to lead the India B team at the Asian Games, scheduled to be played from September 23 to October 8. The 38-year-old believes that the off-spinner deserves to lead India at least once in his career.

It’s worth noting that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will likely send second-string sides because the Asian Games will coincide with the 2023 ODI World Cup (October 5 to November 19).

Ashwin is currently only part of India’s Test squad. The 36-year-old played his last ODI against South Africa at Paarl in January 2022.

Speaking to PTI, Karthik said:

"(Ravichandran) Ashwin is arguably one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. I think he deserves to captain India once, I genuinely believe that he has earned the right to be a captain of Team India.”

It’s worth mentioning that Ravichandran Ashwin has led the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. Under his leadership, Punjab won 12 out of 28 games at a win percentage of 42.85.

On the professional front, Ashwin has scalped 697 wickets in 270 international matches. The right-handed batter has also smashed over 3000 runs in Tests, including five centuries.

Ashwin last played for Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). He scalped four wickets in as many games. He will next be seen in action during the two-Test series in West Indies, which starts on July 12.

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“KL Rahul is the front-runner to keep wickets at Asia Cup” – Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has backed KL Rahul to be the front-runner to keep wickets at the 2023 Asia Cup, which starts on August 31. He said:

“Considering Rishabh Pant is not fit, it's going to be a toss-up between Ishan (Kishan), Sanju (Samson), and KL (Rahul). It's hard to say but I feel that KL Rahul is the front-runner to keep wickets at Asia Cup.”

It’s worth noting that Rahul is currently undergoing rehabilitation after his successful thigh surgery in May. The wicketkeeper-batter wasn’t included in India's squad for the upcoming West Indies tour. He is likely to be available for the Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik is likely to be seen in action for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.