The 24-year-old had earlier impressed West Indian allrounder Dwayne Bravo with his exploits in the IPL for Gujarat Lions.
"He's a very, very good talent. He's sharp, he bowls quick and is somebody who can execute yorkers very consistently, and that's probably one of his biggest strengths," Karthik said on the eve of the first T20 between India and Sri Lanka here.
"He has a good slower ball as well. He has all the ammunition required to play the T20 format and I'm sure he will do really well," he added.
He bowled yorkers at will and Bravo was quick to notice the youngster's talent.
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"I would say he will get the opportunity to play for Team India in a year or so. He has the talent, obviously, but he also has a lot of heart, pace and the skill. He's always willing to learn," Bravo had said.
Within a year, Thampi was seen bowling to the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma during India's training session on the eve of their three-T20I series opener at the Barabati Stadium.
Thampi's allround show (four-wicket match haul and 60 runs) recently helped Kerala secure a historic Ranji Trophy quarterfinal berth.
Thampi has trained under Glenn McGrath and M Senthilnathan at the MRF Pace Foundation.
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