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?
Why no #MSDhoni in DK's all-time XI ⁉️
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 22, 2024
Can #Bumrah lead #India? 🇮🇳
How was #GOAT trailer? 🐐@DineshKarthik answers it all in Episode 11 of #heyCB, here ⏬ pic.twitter.com/2D1hxC8FkT
"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.
Karthik, who hails from Tamil Nadu, also noted that Dhoni is irreplaceable in any format and hailed him as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and asserted that if he had the chance to redo the team, then he would have Dhoni as No.7 and as the captain of the side.
"And for me, let's be clear. Thala Dhoni is a lock in any format, not only in India. I feel he is one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. If I had to redo that team, one change I would do is, Thala Dhoni in at 7. And he will be the captain of any Indian team that is there," said Karthik.
Dinesh Karthik's all-time India XI is as follows: Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Anil Kumble, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Jasprit Bumrah. 12th Man: Harbhajan Singh
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