"I LOVE YOU GUYS" - An emotional Dinesh Karthik thanks RCB and their fans for his India comeback

Dinesh Karthik's comeback into the Indian team has been nothing short of a fairytale. Up until last year, the veteran wicketkeeper was a commentator and was nowhere near the national setup.

Many thought that Karthik had already played his last game for the Men in Blue. However, 'DK' had other plans.

The 37-year-old continued to put in the hard yards and kept practicing the art of finishing. He was let go by the Kolkata Knight Riders after IPL 2021 and desperately needed a franchise where he could showcase his finishing skills.

This is where the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) swooped in to pick up the veteran at the IPL 2022 auction. Quite a few eyebrows were raised as Karthik wasn't playing regular cricket. However, the RCB team management backed him as their finisher and he came off with flying colors.

In 16 matches, DK scored 330 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 183.33 and received a call-up back into the Indian T20I team for the series against South Africa. Karthik's impressive performances have now seen him getting selected for the T20 World Cup.

Here's what RCB posted on Twitter about Karthik being selected for the prestigious tournament:

"We couldn’t be more happy for you, @DineshKarthik! Special comeback from a special player. #PlayBold #TeamIndia #WeAreChallengers"

Dinesh Karthik thanked the franchise, the team management as well as the fans who stood by him during his difficult moments. He tweeted:

"Thanks @RCBTweets for bein an integral part of the journey and helping me achieve my dream Most importantly to all the RCB fans who chant RCB,RCB even when am in my blues representing team INDIA , I LOVE YOU GUYS.THANKS @malolanr @CoachHesson SANJAY BANGAR @basu2013 S SRIRAM"

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India's squad for ICC T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.

Standby players - Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar.