New Delhi: Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has been called up to India`s squad for next month`s Champions Trophy, as a replacement of injured Manish Pandey, confirmed the BCCI said on Thursday.


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Pandey, who was included in the 15-man squad announced by the Indian board, sustained a left-side strain during a practice session with the Kolkata Knight Riders for the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).


Kathik, along with Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav were named in the 5-man stand-by list and as the news of an injury to Pandey broke, the selectors were quick to name replacement in the form of the Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman.


Seeing Raina, who was also on stand-by, miss out on a spot as well as Gautam Gambhir, based on strong IPL performance – Twitterati didn't held back their frustration.









While there might be other names being considered favourites on IPL form, Karthik's selection seems to be a result of his strong domestic performance.


He was part of India`s 2013 Champions Trophy-winning squad and has been in strong form on the domestic circuit this year. Not just that, he was the second-highest run scorer for his IPL team Gujarat Lions, scoring 361 runs.


India begin their Group B campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Birmingham on June 4.