Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has said that there were some question marks when the RCB franchise bought Dinesh Karthik for ₹5.5 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction. He, however, added that Karthik has proved all critics wrong with his stunning batting displays in the ongoing edition as well.
Karthik has tasted a lot of success in IPL 2022. In six matches, he has smashed 197 runs at a strike rate of 209.57 and has been dismissed only once as well. In Bangalore’s last game against the Delhi Capitals (DC), he was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 66 off 34 balls.
Praising Karthik for his brilliant performance while previewing the match on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar stated: “When RCB picked him at the auction, we were all wondering why. It seemed like he was past his prime and he was out of the Indian team as well. He hadn’t done anything extraordinary for his previous franchise KKR too.”
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He continued, “His role has changed since he joined Bangalore. Now, he has to come in at the death and play cameos that have a huge impact. The shots that he is playing now, he always had those, but we had only seen them in parts. But his consistency this season has been amazing. Now there is talk of his return to the Indian T20 team. This is the beauty of the IPL.”
While batting first against Delhi Capitals, RCB were in big trouble at 92 for five. However, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed (32* off 21) added an unbeaten 97 for the sixth wicket to post a total of 189. While sharing his views on RCB’s bowling, Manjrekar urged RCB to back Mohammed Siraj.
“Mohammed Siraj might be expensive sometimes, but in the last game he dismissed Pant and Shaw. He often picks up the big wickets, though his economy may be high at times. He is a game-changer like Umran Malik for SRH. Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel are RCB’s safe deposits. They bowl well whenever called upon. Wanindu Hasaranga has been expensive recently, but he has the variations to fight back. Credit to Faf du Plessis too for handling the bowling attack very well,” Sanjay Manjrekar again added.
He also feels that young Anuj Rawat might be a better choice to continue as an RCB opener in IPL 2022, and Virat Kohli is needed to bat at No. 3 to handle the pressure.
Manjrekar said: “Mike Hesson and Faf du Plessis will have to make a decision over whether they want to go back to Virat Kohli or back a youngster like Anuj Rawat, who can be the future of RCB. If Kohli opens, he will get a better platform to face more balls. But they can go the CSK way as well, where a youngster gets chances at the top and experienced batters handle the pressure overs. At No. 3, you need an experienced player who can handle pressure situations and can change gears accordingly in T20s. This applies to numbers four and five as well. There is slightly less pressure while opening. So, RCB must think about this in case they are looking at changing the opening combination.”
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Giving the example of CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanjay Manjrekar urged RCB to back Rawat for a longer time. However, Rawat has so far scored 125 runs in six IPL 2022 matches which came at an average of 20.83 and a strike rate of 112.61.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad was also inconsistent, but he got a longer rope because of his good track record. Anuj Rawat is also a promising youngster. If you keep backing such players, they will eventually hit form. And, after that, you must judge whether they can carry on the good run or not. All these youngsters are very talented. Yes Rawat has not scored in the last 2-3 innings. But Faf du Plessis’ failure is one of the big stories of this IPL. Very rarely has he been out of form for such an extended period of time,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded.
