Pragyan Ojha, a former India spinner said that Dinesh Karthik will do wonders for Kolkata Knight Riders if he opens for them or comes to bat at No. 3.
Former India off-spinner and IPL winner Pragyan Ojha believes that Dinesh Karthik is the pro version of Mumbai Indians star Suryakumar Yadav, and he will do wonders for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) if he opens the innings for them or comes to bat at No. 3 in IPL 2021.
Pragyan Ojha: Dinesh Karthik Is The Pro Version Of Suryakumar Yadav
Pragyan Ojha said that Dinesh Karthik is a versatile guy, but he needs those 7, 8 extra deliveries so that he can set himself up. Dinesh Karthik’s form will be key for KKR to get going in IPL 2021. The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman had a forgettable 2020 IPL given his high standards.
Dinesh Karthik managed to score only 169 runs in 14 games at an average of 14.08, registering one half-century. Known for his ability to tee off from the start, Dinesh Karthik wasn’t really at his explosive best as he batted with a strike rate of 126.11 last season.
“I believe Dinesh Karthik opening or coming 1 down will do wonders to KKR because he is a guy if he bats long, he is so versatile. He is the pro version of Suryakumar Yadav. That’s what I feel, I have seen right from my childhood.
“That’s the reason I have always said that Dinesh Karthik should always come as an opener or maybe one down. He needs those 7, 8 extra deliveries so that you know he can set himself up,” Pragyan Ojha told Sports Today.
Pragyan Ojha played for Mumbai Indians for 4 seasons between 2012 and 2015 and twice won the IPL title with them. Pragyan Ojha picked 89 scalps in 92 IPL games averaging 26.2 playing from 2008-2015.
After a disappointing IPL season last year in the UAE, which also saw him step down as the skipper of the side handing reins to England’s World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik had a point to prove this season, having being ousted from India’s T20 side as well.
In IPL 2021 and KKR’s first match, Dinesh Karthik, the Kolkata Knight riders’ wicket-keeper batsman was the crisis man for his side again after they lost four quick wickets as he smashed two fours and a six in his 9-ball 22-run innings to give his side a great finish to score 187 runs in their first innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nitish Rana Top Scores With 80 And Rahul Tripathi Scores 53 As KKR Wins By 10 Runs In Their 1st Match
Dinesh Karthik’s innings was the icing on the cake made by Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi, who both scored half-centuries helping KKR to recover from a slow start to take the attack to the SRH bowlers.
Rahul Tripathi brought his fifty of just 28 balls, while Nitish Rana upped the run-rate after reaching his half-century. KKR started its IPL 2021 campaign on a positive note. The Eoin Morgan-led side eventually walked home as the winners by a margin of 10 runs despite Manish Pandey’s fighting unbeaten 61, Jonny Bairstow’s 55, and Abdul Samad’s late blitz.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma
KKR will play against defending champions Mumbai Indians on 13th April while SRH will take on RCB on 14th April. KKR may field the same team despite having other options like Lockie Ferguson, Sunil Narine, and Kuldeep Yadav while Mumbai Indians who lost the opening encounter to RCB may bring in Quinton De Kock, James Neesham, and Piyush Chawla.