Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik expressed delight after Naman Dhir was given his ODI debut in the first game against the West Indies on Sunday. Karthik said it doesn’t matter what Dhir does, his chances of getting pick in the World Cup squad are bleak.

The Punjab batter has impressed while playing in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians and had a terrific run in the Sher-e-Punjab tournament. However, Karthik reckons it would not played a role in his selection.

“In all honesty, I don’t think Naman Dhir will fancy a chance in the World Cup. A lot of things have to go wrong before it goes right for Naman Dhir. He is an off-spinning all-rounder, and obviously, you have Washington Sundar who has been there and done it so well that it is very hard to replace him in the squad right now. How many spinners will you take? You might not need so many spinners in South Africa,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“Not many thought Naman Dhir would be there, but the fact that he has been awarded this tells you how well he has done in domestic cricket. We have seen that he has done well for the Mumbai Indians. I don’t think the Sher-e-Punjab would have counted for this selection, but he did phenomenally well there. I do think this is a good opportunity, I won’t say a great opportunity because, no matter what he does, the chances aren’t going to be that much in the near future,” he continued.

Dhir was in red-hot form in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 league. He scored 655 runs in 10 matches while leading Amritsar Soormas at an average of 72.78 and a blistering strike rate of 217.61. Thus, he ended as the leading run-getter of the tournament and was awarded Player of the Tournament, leading his team to glory.

Dhir returned with figures of 0-33 in five overs he bowled on his debut.