India vs South Africa: ‘DK IS BACK!’, Twitter hails Dinesh Karthik’s international return after three years

Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik made his international comeback after three long years when he was named in the XI for the first T20I against South Africa in Delhi on Thursday.

Karthik’s last appearance for India before this game was in the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Manchester, which incidentally was also MS Dhoni’s final international appearance. Karthik had since then taken up lucrative commentary deals with Sky Sports while continuing to play domestic cricket as well as in the IPL.

Karthik’s inclusion comes on the back of a brilliant run with the bat in IPL 2022, in which he nailed the finisher’s role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and played a crucial role in their run to the playoffs, the team ultimately bowing out after losing Qualifier 2.

Karthik collected 330 runs in 16 appearances across the season but what was especially noteworthy was his average of 55, as well as stunning strike rate of 183.33.

In the T20I series opener against South Africa, Karthik got to face just two deliveries, remaining unbeaten on 1 as a well-set all-Hardik Pandya (31 off 12) decided to hog the strike in the final over of the innings.

Here’s how Cricket Twitter reacted to DK’s return in the coveted blue jersey:

Click here for live updates and full scorecard on the first T20I between India and South Africa

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