“Bhai log, bada galti ho gaya (Guys, I made a big mistake). It was honestly an oversight,” Karthik admitted in a video on Cricbuzz.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik sparked a social media uproar when he failed to include MS Dhoni in his all-time India XI. After facing backlash, Karthik clarified that it was an honest mistake, admitting that he completely forgot to add Dhoni. Reflecting on the error, Karthik, who himself spent most of his career behind the stumps, found it embarrassing that he omitted a wicketkeeper from his lineup. Acknowledging the oversight, Karthik confirmed that Dhoni is an automatic inclusion in his XI across all formats.
In a video on Cricbuzz, Karthik expressed his regret, saying, “Bhai log, bada galti ho gaya (Guys, I made a big mistake). It was genuinely an oversight.” He explained that he only realized the error after the episode aired. “There were so many things happening when I made the XI that I forgot the wicketkeeper. Luckily, Rahul Dravid was there, so people assumed I was going with a part-time keeper. But honestly, I didn’t consider Dravid as a wicketkeeper. Can you believe it? As a wicketkeeper, I forgot to include one. It’s a blunder.”
To rectify his mistake, Karthik decided to add Dhoni at the No. 7 spot in his team, calling the Ranchi-born legend one of the greatest players in cricket history. “And for me, let’s be clear. Thala Dhoni is a lock in any format, not only in India. I believe he is one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. If I had to redo that team, one change I would make is Thala Dhoni at 7. And he will be the captain of any Indian team that is there,” Karthik added.
Though Karthik didn’t specify which player would be dropped to accommodate Dhoni, it appears that Ravindra Jadeja might have been the one to make way for the ‘Thala’.
Dinesh Karthik’s revised All-Time XI: Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (new addition), Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Jasprit Bumrah, and Zaheer Khan.