September 12 was a joyous day for veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik after he was selected for India's squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia. Karthik, who was also in the squad that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, expressed his happiness by sharing a beautiful tweet where he wrote, "Dreams do come true".
And joining in the adulations for his selection was Hardik Pandya, whose one-word response warmed the hearts of many fans on social media.The star all-rounder — also in the squad for the World Cup — quote-tweeted Karthik's post with a wonderful reply saying, 'Champion.'
The duo will be a part of the 15-man India squad for the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup which will take place in Australia from October 16-November 13. The trophy has eluded Team India since 2007 and these two middle-order batters will relish the thought of having a hand in winning the trophy.
While it is a momentous occasion for Karthik, Pandya will be looking for redemption after a very subpar 2021 World Cup, where India were eliminated in the group stages. He has since won his way back into the national team after leading Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy and is bowling regularly as well. He also captained India to a 2-0 series whitewash in their away T20I outing against Ireland.
Karthik returned to the national team following a sensational campaign for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2022 IPL. He has been impressive whenever called upon and is among the deserving players on the flight to Australia.
Returning pacers a boost
Meanwhile, India will be strengthened by the return of pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, who have recovered from their respective injuries.
India will begin their campaign in the 2022 T20 World Cup on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against arch-rivals Pakistan. They will be joined by two qualifier teams in their group, who also have Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa.
Before the marquee event, the team will play two warm-up games on October 17 and 19 against Australia and New Zealand respectively at the Gabba in Brisbane.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby Players: Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer.
