Hyderabad: Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has apologised to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's fans who were left disappointed by him for leaving out the legendary captain from his all-time India XI.
Karthik had revealed his all-time India playing XI but didn't mention MS Dhoni's name in the side. He faced a lot of criticism for not including Dhoni in the squad as he left the fans stunned by his call.
However, the 39-year-old on his latest show with Cricbuzz, answering the fan's question and answer session, explained what had happened that led to the former captain's snub from the all-time India XI lineup. Karthik, who played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru last year in the Indian Premier League, stated that it was a genuine mistake made by him and he had forgotten about picking a wicket-keeper while making the team. He also mentioned that many assumed he had chosen Rahul Dravid to be his wicketkeeper in the side, emphasised that being a wicket-keeper how can he pick a part-time stumper in the all-time squad?
"Bhai log. Bada galti hogaya (Guys I made a big mistake.) Genuinely it was a mistake. I realised only when the episode came out. There were so many things happening that when I put this 11, I forgot the wicketkeeper. Luckily Rahul Dravid was there and everybody thought I was going with a part-time wicketkeeper. But genuinely I didn't think of Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper. Can you believe being a wicketkeeper, I forgot to have a wicketkeeper? It is a blunder," said Karthik.