New Delhi: Veteran wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has been included in the squad for the third Test against South Africa by the All-India
selection committee as a replacement for Wriddhiman Saha, who is out with a hamstring injury. The right-handed wicket-keeper batsman will join the squad ahead of the third Test match which begins in Johannesburg on January 24.
Saha suffered from a hamstring tendon injury during training before the ongoing second Test match and was subsequently replaced by Gujarat wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel in the playing XI for the match. He is being monitored by BCCI’s medical team. Patel hasn’t impress with his performance behind the stumps so far in the second Test and is less likely to feature in the last Test match. India are currently 1-0 down in the three-match series.
If the Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman gets the nod ahead of Patel in the final test, then he would playing his first Test match since 2010. He last featured for India in a Test match against Bangladesh in Chittagong. He has played a total of 23 Tests so far and has scored 1000 runs at an average of 27.78 with one hundred and seven fifties.
Karthik getting to play the last Test match would help him to adjust to the conditions as he is also a part of India’s limited overs’ team where he is one of the strong contenders for a middle-order.