‘If Virat Kohli is not around he should be the first choice’: Dinesh Karthik names Kohli’s replacement for T20Is

"Please don't have temporary amnesia in the near future, because the names replacing him will be big. And then we might go and look at the score and say he just scored a 40 or a 30" : said Karthik on Kohli's replacement.

Dinesh Karthik speaks on Virat Kohli's replacement in the T20Is. (Twitter)

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“The beauty about him is that’s his DNA. To go out there and irrespective of how big the situation is, how big the game is, these are the kind of players you’ll need because in the big matches, he’ll do exactly that,” said cricketer turned commentator Dinesh Karthik on Rahul Tripathi.

With former skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s absence from the shortest format of the game becoming more frequent, team India needs a batter who can start at number 3. Speaking about the same, Karthik on Cricbuzz said, “I think we shouldn’t forget that in 3 months time, 6 months time. Maybe he’ll have a good IPL, maybe he won’t but he deserves that Indian team number 3 spot whenever that comes. If Virat Kohli chooses to play okay but if Virat Kohli is not around he should be the first choice, not someone who has done well somewhere else.”

Karthik was all praises for his former Kolkata Knight Riders’ teammate as he spoke about his selfless and explosive idea of batting for India – “Lets be aware of the situation, the intent and the context every time he has walked in. Selflessly, knowing probably his career was on the line but still taking the aggressive option, still taking the big shot option, high risk option. Trusting to do that because his team needs him to do that in a must-win game.”

“When his career was on the line, he did a fabulous job in the last game against Sri Lanka and this game. He’s not someone who’s gonna get many chances, still he went out with that aggression, took high risk options and did exactly what the captain and the coach wanted,” the veteran cricketer added.

During his interaction on the show, Karthik also gave a message to the fans and urged them not to forget Rahul Tripathi’s name when it comes to giving him chances in the team: “Whatever I’m going to say now, I don’t think it’s for Rahul Tripathi, it’s for all cricket fans, who follow Indian cricket very closely. Please don’t have temporary amnesia in the near future, because the names replacing him will be big. And then we might go and look at the score and say he just scored a 40 or a 30.”

About the game, after a flurry of boundaries from Gill to start the match, it was Rahul Tripathi who took on the mantle with his improvisation and constant fidgeting around the crease, as the second-wicket partnership reached 50 in 28 balls. Tripathi’s 44 off 22 balls set the stage, and contributed in taking India to 234/4 in 20 overs.

India smoked New Zealand’s chasing challenge by pinning them down to 66 off 12.1 overs as they secured a 168 run win in the third T20I between the two at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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