Former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar felt wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik should have been included in India's T20I squad for the upcoming West Indies tour. Nayar, who is also Karthik's mentor, is convinced that Team India would only benefit from the veteran player's experience.

"He [Karthik] did not have the best of World Cups. In only one game [against New Zealand in the semi-final where he scored six runs in 25 balls] did he get to bat a lot. But, in the T20 format, he has had a good record in the last two years. I believe he deserved a T20 place on the West Indies tour," Nayar, who was chief guest at the prize distribution function of the Bhagubhai Khichadia U-16 inter-school cricket tournament, told mid-day at Khar Gymkhana yesterday.