Published 12:51 IST, October 23rd 2019
Dinesh Karthik mocks Sreesanth's sensational India ouster claim!
Dinesh Karthik has rubbished S Sreesanth's allegation in which he claimed that the wicket-keeper batsman was the reason behind his ouster from the Indian team.
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Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday rubbished former India fast bowler S Sreesanth's claim that he was primarily responsible for Sreesanth's exclusion from the Indian team post the summer of 2011.
Karthik vs Sreesanth story
In an interview with a leading media daily, Sreesanth had claimed that the wicketkeeper-batsman had complained about him abusing the then BCCI President N Srinivasan, which is why he was not picked in the India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Ironically, Sreesanth was accused of spot-fixing while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the 2013 IPL season, which took place before the global event.
It also bears noting that Srinivasan continues to be the czar of cricket in Tamil Nadu, the team which is led by Karthik in domestic cricket. Srinivasan is also the owner of Chennai Super Kings, the IPL franchise which Sreesanth claims to 'hate' because of his issues with the yellow colour.
Sreesanth believes that he cannot forgive Karthik for his complaint and warned that Kerala will trump Tamil Nadu when they play each other the next time in any domestic competition. In response, Karthik has told another media daily that Sreesanth's allegations are baseless and finds it 'silly' to even react to them.
Sreesanth's cricketing career took an ugly turn after the spot-fixing charges against him. It is only recently that his life ban was reduced to 7 years, i.e. June 2020. The 36-year-old has played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20 Internationals for India, claiming 169 wickets in all. He last played for India back in 2011.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik fell out of favour in ODI cricket after managing just 14 in two innings in the recently concluded World Cup for India, but he has been in stellar form as Tamil Nadu's finisher in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 349 runs in six innings at an average of 87.25 and strike rate of just over 135.
His finishing knocks have been central to Tamil Nadu notching up nine wins in as many games in the Group C league phase in Jaipur. He has scored four fifties so far in the tournament, all coming while batting at No.5 or 6. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper is looking to find a spot in the national T20I side for the upcoming 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia as a finisher.
10:25 IST, October 23rd 2019