NEWS
Follow UsWith two T20 World Cups in the next 15-16 months, Dinesh Karthik wants to make a comeback to the Indian side and play the role of a finisher. The wicketkeeper-batsman from Tamil Nadu, who has featured in 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is, hasn't played for India since the 2019 World Cup.
"I will continue playing as long as I am fit. I can see myself playing for another three-four years. Touchwood, if my fitness is as it is and if I continue to contribute with the bat, I see no reason as to why I shouldn’t be playing. My aim is to play for the country in the T20 World Cups. 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," the 36-year-old told News18.
"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.
"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."
India are scheduled to play some white-ball cricket in Sri Lanka next month and Karthik wants to be part of the squad. The right-hander hasn't played for India for the last two years but has been playing the role of a finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL and his state Tamil Nadu.
"Being a middle-order batsman in T20s, you cannot put numbers like how the top three could put up in terms of volumes. What you need to see is the impact you play, the strike rates at which you play, whether you are able to change the course of the game. That is what I have been able to do over a period of time.
"Definitely, that is the role I have been working on. I have been doing it for KKR and also for TN. I am very confident in that role. You can get a lot of runs batting in the top-order when there is Power Play and the fields are up and you can go over the top.
"The skill comes in for a middle-order batsman, especially after 14 overs, what is he going to do. That’s what I have tried to focus on and tried to help teams achieve that. To be fair, I have done with a fair degree of success and that is why I am confident that if given the opportunity, I will make a difference for the country in the T20 format."
The Indian Test team is currently in England for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and will then be involved in a five-Test series against Joe Root and Co. Karthik too is on his way to England, but to work as a pundit and commentator for Sky Sports.
"I am very excited. It is something that is very new to me. I’m looking forward to this stint. I am really happy to be a part of this new journey. If you see foreign countries, especially football and NBA, current players come and talk about the sport when they are injured or when their team is not playing," said Karthik, who was part of the Indian Test side when they last toured England in 2018.
"The perception in India is that if you go to be an expert commentator, their playing career is finished. You take football, current players sit and talk in the studio, talk about other teams and give their expert opinions. In NBA and tennis, this is a norm. Why should it be any different in cricket?"