'Dreams do come true', tweets Dinesh Karthik; see Hardik Pandya's response

Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has taken to social media to express his happiness on being included in Team India's ICC T20 World Cup squad.

"Dreams do come true," 37-year-old Karthik said in a heartfelt tweet after he was picked ahead of younger options like Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson for the teams to play the World Cup and the T20 series series against Australia and South Africa.


Karthik, who had fallen off the radar for a few years and was even working as a TV commentator for a while, made his way back into the Indian team after a brilliant IPL 2022 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which saw him prosper as a finisher.

He scored 330 runs in 16 games at an average of 55.00, and often finished matches for his team, both while setting targets and while chasing.

Since returning to the India team, he has played 17 matches, having scored 193 runs in 14 innings at an average of 21.44 and a highest score of 55.

Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was named in the squad - with Ravindra Jadeja injured, that is the lefthanded batting option in the top 6 - while the slot for the second wicketkeeper was watched with interest.

Karthik's teammate and allrounder Hardik Pandya had a warmresponse. "Champion," he wrote.

Karthik had earlier mentioned that his motivation to play for India remained as strong as ever, and that he was eyeing a slot in the team that was sent to the World Cup

"The bigger vision was to play for the country. I know there is a World Cup around the corner. I want to be part of that World Cup desperately and help India cross the line," Karthik had once said.

India 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, Arshdeep Singh.