Dinesh Karthik has said that he would like to feature in the next two T20 World Cups and help India win at least one if not both.
Dinesh Karthik has not found himself in the Indian squad since the Virat Kohli-led side suffered a disheartening loss against New Zealand in the semi-final of ICC World Cup 2019.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was sent ahead of MS Dhoni but failed miserably to score runs which saw him getting snubbed from the Indian squad.
‘My aim is to play for the country in back-to-back T20 World Cups’: Dinesh Karthik
Earlier this year, the wicketkeeper-batsman led Tamil Nadu to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and had decent outings in IPL 2021.
However, with two T20 World Cups ahead, Dinesh Karthik is eyeing a comeback. In an interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, Dinesh Karthik admitted that as it has been a beautiful journey for him but his only aim is to be a part of the next two World Cups for Team India and help his team win at least one of them.
"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.
"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,” Dinesh Karthik told ESPNCricinfo.
Karthik remarked that batting at No.5 and No.7 is all about making an impact with your innings.
"See, at Nos. 6 and 7, to be consistent would mean being consistent with strike rates. What's most important is the impact your innings create. You can't look at the scores per se because the amount of balls you face is very few.
“If you take the scores you will see they will be around 18, 22 not out, one game will be 4, one game will be 8, and then you make a 14 not out from four balls," he said.
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Karthik said that when a team plays well, lower and middle order get fewer balls to play and thus have to make as big an impact as possible. He also admitted that batting at the back-end doesn't guarantee runs at all because of the risk involved in playing shots.
"So, if your team is doing well, that means you are playing fewer balls a lot of the time because the bulk of the batting is done by the top order. Then you create an impact as much as possible at the back end with as many balls as you get.
"Not every time that you walk in you are going to score runs, especially when you bat at the back end where you are expected to play the high-risk shots right at the outset,” he concluded.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
