IPL 2022: RCB's Karthik's can do a similar finisher role for India: Gavaskar

Bengaluru, April 19: Dinesh Karthik who has been a revelation for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in his new role as a finisher has won plaudits from none other than Indian cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar.

Karthik has been finishing games for RCB franchise in IPL 2022 and the former Indian captain backed the senior cricketer to do the same for the national side during the ICC T20 World Cup to be held later in the year.

And ahead of Match 31 of IPL 2022 where RCB take on Lucknow Super Giants, at the Dr DY Patil Sports Complex Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday (April 19), Gavaskar opined that Karthik will be the player to watch out for.

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"Of course, he'll be the RCB player to watch out for in the game against Lucknow. He's just changing the complexion of the game with his performance. He's doing it for his team," Gavaskar said in the Cricket Live show on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2022.

The little master believes RCB's wicketkeeper-batter Karthik is someone, who is capable of changing the complexion of the game with his batting exploits alone, which should earn him a recall to the national side for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held Down Under.

"He's doing it for his team. He said he wants to be a part of the Indian Team for the T20 World Cup," Gavaskar added.

The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper/batter has been in and out of national side and by the time ICC T20 World Cup starts in Australia, Karthik will be 37.

But Gavaskar believes age is just a number and it should not stand in the way of his national recall.

"What I am saying is don't look at his age, just look at what he's producing. He's doing the job that you can expect him to do at number 6 or 7 at the World Cup," Gavaskar said.

Sunil Gavaskar has backed Dinesh Karthik to the hilt.

Meanwhile, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden claimed RCB's senior batting trio of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell will fire against LSG on Tuesday.

"The RCB side have got some good mix of talent and there are a few players who are going to have a crack in the game.

"RCB have their captain Faf du Plessis who scored an impressive 88 in the first game but his form has tapered off a little bit. Of course, they've got Glenn Maxwell there as well. He has also made a few footprints in the tournament," Hayden said on the same Cricket Live show on Star Sports.

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The match has many sub-plots including KL Rahul's elegance vs Quinton de Kock's flamboyance while the finishing skills of Karthik and Maxwell will also be in the spotlight on Tuesday evening and Hayden expects a cracker of a contest on the Navi Mumbai pitch, which has been full of runs so far.

"So with Virat, Maxi and Faf, expect fireworks from them," Hayden added.

Watch LSG vs RCB pre-match telecast on Tuesday (April 19) from 6.30 pm onwards on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.

Match starts at 7.30pm IST