Dinesh Karthik
He last played for India in July 2019 and has not been named for the impending limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, but veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik still believes of an impactful India return and has listed World T20 appearance for India in the next two editions as his ultimate goal.
Earlier this year, he guided Tamil Nadu to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And is now likely to lead Kolkata Knight Riders owing to Eoin Morgan's absence when IPL 2021 resumes in the UAE in September.
"You keep evolving. You are not the same person you were at 21 or 22. You look at things differently - the way you play the sport changes, the way the sport is played changes. It is just beautiful to have been part of the journey," Karthik told ESPNCricinfo.
"Right now, my ambition is to be part of the next two World Cups and try and help India win at least one, if not both. That's the ultimate goal for me and I am doing everything I possibly can to be part of that team," he added.
He also believes that the middle-order slot, between No.5 and 7 - is where he can slot in and make the difference.
"I believe there is a middle-order slot right now, at Nos. 5, 6, 7. And I can slot into any of the three. For the top four slots, there are way too many players who have done phenomenally well and who keep batting in [IPL] franchises at that position. My specialty is that I can bat at five, six, seven and help India in setting up the best score possible or in winning games, which I did in the short while before the 2019 World Cup in the T20 format. The fact that I have played 150 games for my country is the experience I will look back on every time I play."
