Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik may have been sidelined from the national set-up, but the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman is still hopeful to be a part of the next two T20 World Cup squads.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, who was a part of the Indian team in the 2019 World Cup, has backed his fitness and finishing abilities to make a return to the national fold.
“What they want to see is not the age but how fit you are. If you can get through the fitness tests, it means you are ready to play for the country. My aim is to play for the country in the T20 World Cups. There are back-to-back T20 World Cups, this year and the next year, and I am doing everything I can to be a part of that.
“I know I have done really well in the past and even when I got dropped from the team after the World Cup, I thought I had done phenomenally well for India in T20s up till then, but because the World Cup did not go well, I got chucked out of the T20 as well," Karthik told Cricket Next in an interview.
The 36-year-old has now entered the commentary box, taking up the job as a 'pundit' and he will be also giving commentary on the World Test Championship final. However, India's 2018 Nidahas Trophy final hero is still confident of grabbing the finisher's role in the middle-order.
"But given an opportunity, especially in the middle order, I know India definitely needs a finisher there. I know we have Hardik (Pandya) and (Ravindra) Jadeja there. That’s something that I have kept my focus on, to be a pure middle-order batsman.
"I feel that is a specialised slot, the ability to win games and set up good totals to help the team win. That’s something that I have focussed on and I have done well over a period of time and am backing myself to do it over and over again. And, I know that if I do that, there will be a place in the Indian team," Karthik further said.
The Chennai-born was last seen in action in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) where he notched up 123 runs in seven games. The veteran will likely take charge of the Kolkata outfit if regular skipper Eoin Morgan isn't available for the second half in the UAE, scheduled to start during the September-October window later this year.
Karthik also opened up on his cricketing journey and whether MS Dhoni's rise eclipsed his international stint.
"Everybody plays the sport trying to do their best and do whatever they can. I was no different. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn’t. As I said, when I look back at my journey, I am very proud of whatever I have done over a period of time," he said.
