New Delhi: Team India's senior wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik, who is set to be part of India XI for match against Pakistan on Sunday, shared an emotional post on Instagram ahead of India-Pakistan clash. In his heartfelt post, Karthik thanked three players who played a crucial role in his comeback. Reacting to an ICC video, Karthik hailed Aussie legend Ricky Ponting as his favorite cricketer of all time. The Tamil Nadu-born thanked Abhishek Nayar who was sort of a mentor for him before he made his India comeback. The star batter thanked Rohit Sharma who has witnessed Karthik's journey in India team ever since his debut. An emotional Karthik said "Rohit was the one who showed him that there's light at the end of the tunnel."
"RICKY PONTING Easily one of my favvv cricketers growing up and I loved every minute I spent with him during my time with MI. A champion leader and an astute reader of the game and the fiercest competitor you could meet and I love that about him. Thanks Ricky for these beautiful words, which means a hell of a lot to me. I'm hoping to spend some time in the near future with you," Karthik wrote.
"And to make all of this happen and actually keep believing in me and pushing me everyday in my journey here and what a special person he is in my life @abhisheknayar.
"For a man who went through all this, believed in me and always had time for me and showed me there is light at the end of the tunnel for that I'm ever grateful, that for me is @rohitsharma45."
India's T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.