Dinesh Karthik has been in impressive form for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing IPL 2024. His scores of 38, 28 and 20 were acknowledged by former England cricketer Nasser Hussain during a Sky Sports chat show. Hussain even suggested that Karthik’s performances might put him in contention for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
Playful Banter Erupts Between Karthik and Hussain
Karthik’s response to Hussain’s praise was laced with playful banter. He jokingly highlighted Hussain’s past critical remarks regarding his selection for the Indian team. Karthik humorously referred to Hussain as a “tiger in sheep’s clothing” and recounted a past instance where he felt “stabbed in the back” by a comment from Hussain.
“Nass, you are a tiger in sheep’s clothing. I am not going to trust a word of what you say. Just for all the SKY Sports podcast listeners, Nass doesn’t like me as a person, as a player, as a wicketkeeper, let alone any part of me. This is the first time he’s said ‘you’ve smashed again’, because he has probably seen the scorecard once or twice,” Karthik said jokingly.
Karthik References Past World Cup Selection Snub
Karthik further elaborated on a specific instance where he felt Hussain’s commentary had been critical of his selection. He recalled an interview where he felt Hussain’s comments indirectly advocated for Rishabh Pant‘s selection over him for the World Cup squad.
“If you ask Nass to put an Indian team now and list 6 wicket-keepers, I would probably be 8th in that list. Last year at the World Cup, the only person in the world who wanted me so badly out of the team… you took an interview with me, you stabbed me in the back and then you said ‘this guy doesn’t deserve a place. Where is Rishabh Pant?’ That’s the headline we got. Don’t try to play nice and coy with me,” Karthik said in a light-hearted manner.
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