England Lions' got a big boost ahead of their unofficial Test series against India A in Ahmedabad. For a brief period of nine days, they will get the services of India's wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik as batting consultant.
Karthik will work with the English side starting with the two-day warm-up game in Ahmedabad starting January 12. All the games of the unofficial four-day Test series will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium.
"It's great to have such a strong coaching group supporting our players for what should be an exciting challenge versus India A. The group has a deep and diverse set of experiences and expertise," said England Men's Performance Director Mo Bobat.
"And it's fantastic to have Dinesh Karthik with us for a part of our prep period and leading into the first Test. I'm sure the lads will love spending time with him and benefiting from his experience of what it takes to be successful at Test level in India."
Karthik is currently not in the scheme of things across formats for the senior side. He made his last international appearance in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia against Bangladesh where he managed to score just seven runs. He has not been selected for the T20I squad for India’s 10-wicket loss to Jos Buttler’s England in the semifinal.
Karthik's last first-class (Ranji Trophy) appearance was in 2019-20 season. The Tamil Nadu batter contributed with a quickfire 36-ball 49. He has nearly 14 years of experience in the red-ball format at the domestic level. He has scored 9,620 runs from 167 games at an average of 40.93 including 28 centuries and 43 half-centuries.
England Lions has several players who have represented the senior side in Test cricket. These players will look to benefit from Karthik’s experience on Indian pitches.
The 38-year-old is yet to announce his retirement. He will be seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
England Lions Squad for India tour: Josh Bohannon (c), Kasey Aldridge, Brydon Carse, Jack Carson, James Coles, Matt Fisher, Keaton Jennings, Tom Lawes, Alex Lees, Dan Mousley, Callum Parkinson, Matt Potts, Ollie Price, James Rew and Ollie Robinson.
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