Rajkot, Jun 17 (IANS): India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has revealed how "special" his comeback to the national side feels after being on the sidelines for more than three years, adding that he dreamt of donning national colours every single day when he was not a part of the country's cricket setup.

Karthik made it back into the India limited-overs side for the five-match T20I series against South Africa after giving commanding displays during IPL 2022 season for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"I am very happy, very proud. It's an incredible atmosphere and team to be part of. For about three years, I've been looking from outside. I've been looking at how special it is to be a part of this team. I am enjoying and very grateful for every second I am here," Karthik told BCCI.TV.

"I think I've been dropped so many times and I always wanted to make a comeback into the Indian team. I think that has been my biggest drive, whenever, whether I've played domestic, whether I've played IPL. The urge, the fire in the belly in terms of wanting to come back here, wear the national colours and represent the India team is something that I dream of everyday, and that is what has kept me going consistently in the last decade or so," said Karthik.

Karthik had an incredible IPL 2022 season, scoring 330 runs in 16 innings, guiding RCB in the slog overs with his power-hitting and managing a strike rate in excess of 183.