India Vs Afghanistan : Here's the reason why Dinesh Karthik lost his Test spot to a special player like MS Dhoni

Former Indian Skipper MS Dhoni retirement from Test and Wriddhiman Saha's injury has opened the door for Dinesh Karthik. He earned a call-up for the one-off historic Test against Afghanistan.

In a span of 8 years, following the hard grind of domestic cricket finally got the chance to play in red ball format. He played his last test in January 2010.

As reported in Hindustan Times “It feels very good to wear the whites. To be part of the Test team is something I’ve always dreamt of. I guess I didn’t perform well enough before. Dhoni was breathing down my neck. He has gone on to become probably one of the greatest Test captains India has produced. So, it’s not that I lost my place to some normal cricketer,” Karthik said ahead of India’s net session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

As reported in The HIndu “It was a highly competitive environment at the time and there was a person named M.S. Dhoni who was breathing down my neck. He was causing a stir in world cricket at that time. He has gone on to become one of the greatest captains India has ever had. So it was not like I lost my place to a normal cricketer. Dhoni is a special cricketer and I respect him,” Karthik said here on Tuesday.

“It was a challenge because not many people come to watch you play domestic cricket. But I’ve enjoyed playing, so motivation was never a problem. Credit to Team Tamil Nadu, for putting up with me during those tough years.

“The challenge lay in trying to get Tamil Nadu into the Ranji Trophy knockouts, which kept us going,” Karthik said.

Everyone knows how tough life is in Afghanistan. In spite of that, they have been able to inspire people with their performances. I’m really happy for them. It is good for the sport as well.

“Their journey to Test cricket is a fabulous story. In white-ball cricket, they have shown that they have what it takes to win tournaments. This is a tremendous achievement, given the little infrastructure they have. I hope Afghanistan gets opportunities to play more Test cricket,” Karthik said.

Also Read: India Vs Afghanistan, Historic Test Match : Three Afghanistan players Team India should worry about