File photo of MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik© BCCI/Sportzpics
Former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik left fans fuming on social media after failing to pick MS Dhoni in his all-time India XI. Issuing a clarification on the blunder, Karthik admitted that he genuinely forgot to add Dhoni. The recently-retired wicket-keeper batter admitted the big error he made in team selection, saying it's embarrassing that he didn't add a wicket-keeper to his team despite being a player who has mostly stood behind the stumps himself. Rectifying his mistake, Karthik said that Dhoni is a certain present in his XI, across all formats.
"Bhai log. Bada galti hogaya (Guys I made a big mistake.) Genuinely it was a mistake," Karthik said in a video on Cricbuzz.
"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. Bu genuinely I didn't think Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper,. Can you believe being a wicketkeeper, I forgot to have a wicketkeeper? It is a blunder," said Karthik.
Karthik decided to add Dhoni at the No. 7 spot in his team, calling the Ranchi-born icon one of the greatest players in the game.
"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," he further said.
Though Karthik didn't specify which player would make way for Dhoni, it seems like Ravindra Jadeja had to be snubbed to make space for the 'Thala'.
Dinesh Karthik's All-Time XI: Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja (MS Dhoni the new addition), Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Jasprit Bumrah and Zaheer Khan.