PANDYA, VARUN ARE KARTHIK’S PICKS FOR INDIA

Dinesh Karthik, senior Indian wicketkeeper who last Friday was battling out for his team Kolkata night Riders against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, visited the Danube head office for a motivational speech.

Karthik bared his heart when he said KKR had done well to come back in the UAE leg to reach the finals. The conditions in Sharjah suited their bowlers and he was full of praise for their success in restricting rivals to below-par scores, which their batsman then chased down.

When asked about the 2007 T20 World Cup victory under M.S. Dhoni, a team which he was a part of, he said that victory was special and still gives him goosebumps.

He remembers vividly the catch he took to dismiss Grame Smith, the then South African captain, almost finishing in the slips.

When asked about Team India’s squad for the T20 World cup, he said India have all the bases covered and reckoned they have it in them to go the distance. He felt Hardik Pandya should be played in the team as he will be X factor for Team India, along with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Finally, Karthik gave out match tickets to the blue collar staff of Danube for the high profile India-Pakistan game on Sunday and also the Pakistan- Afghanistan game on October 30.