India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik may not be part of Team India scheeme of things but the cricketer is one of those who has often made the transition from being a cricketer to a commentator or a cricket pundit very quickly and seamlessly. He has switched between roles, often doing both the jobs pretty well whenever the opportunity has come knocking at his door. And now when he was present at an event and was asked to share his views on a cricketing aspect, he made sure that he spoke his mind.
Notably, Karthik spoke about the recent media reports which suggest that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have reportedly agreed to send men's and women's team for the Asian Games 2023. The same report also claims that since the men's calendar is packed, the men's squad that represents India at the Hangzhou Games in China will be a second string side. Shikhar Dhawan's name had emerged as one of those players who could lead India on this historic contingent at the quadrinnial event. However, Karthik has a different name in mind who he thinks should lead India. Karthik feels it is off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who should get the honour of leading the Men in Blue espcially if the off-spinner is not part of the management's World Cup plans moving forward.
"Ashwin is arguably one of the greatest players to have ever played in terms of his quality of bowling and the number of wickets he has picked. I genuinely feel that if India are sending a B team, with the main team preparing for the World Cup, they should make him the captain if he is not part of the ODI setup. I genuinely feel he deserves it and has earned the right of being the captain of the team. I wish they name Ashwin as captain for at least Asian Games. That will be a feather in his hat," Karthik said at an event.
It is pertinent to note that cricket had been a part of the 2014 edition of the Asian Games, India had not sent its cricket teams for that event.