Veteran India wicket-keeping batter Dinesh Karthik has shared his thoughts on being replaced by former India captain MS Dhoni in the Indian side, claiming that the Dhoni mania was so big that they had to select him. Dhoni is considered to be one of India’s best-ever captains who won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup as captain.

Speaking on the RCB podcast, Karthik said that he made his debut before Dhoni but his performances at an ODI series made people take notice of his abilities as well.

“I made my debut before him. We went together on an India A tour and from there I got picked to the Indian team. I did so well that they picked me for the Indian team. From there, they went on another trip, there was a ODI tournament where he just blasted it there with boundaries and sixes. The world was still getting used to something like that, it was that sort of thing. People stood up and said there is nobody like him,” said Karthik.

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“They said he’s a special player. Obviously I came to the Indian team, but by then the Dhoni mania was so big that you had to pick him. He then replaced me in all formats and he did very well. At the end of the day, it is all about taking opportunities,” Karthik added.

The veteran also said that MS Dhoni made no mistake when he broke into the team and he did quite well for himself and became a brand overnight also.

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“He was doing very well for himself. I knew that he had settled in all team. And he made no mistake. They sent him up an order, he got a hundred in ODI. He then went to Test cricket and scored 85. He kept brilliantly. Most importantly, he became a brand overnight. People were after him. He was huge right from the outset. I remained the under study but I was always on the lookout for opportunities,” concluded Dinesh Karthik.