Dinesh Karthik reveals his ‘ultimate goal’: Playing in next 2 T20 World Cups for India, winning at least one
Talking about his “ambitions”, senior wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has said that he would like to feature in the next 2 T20 World Cups and help India win at least one if not both.
Dinesh Karthik is all set for his commentary duties during India’s upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand from June 18. The 36-year-old is an active cricketer but last represented India in the semi-final of 2019 World Cup against the Kiwis.
Karthik has also revealed his “ultimate goal” in the twilight phase of his career. The swashbuckling right-hander aims to play in the next two T20 World Cups for India. He also wants to help India win at least one of them.
However, Karthik hasn’t given up on hopes of a comeback. This year, he guided Tamil Nadu to win the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vice-captain could be seen leading the franchise in the remaining fixtures of IPL 2021, which is set to resume from the third week of September. The T20 World is scheduled to start in October and Karthik will look to make his bid for a spot in the team by performing distinctively for KKR.
“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.
Karthik talks about dynamics of batting lower down the order:
For Karthik, consistency of a batsman batting at 6 and 7 is about his strike rates. The seasoned batsman reckoned that looking at the scores and judging a player can’t be a suitable parameter as the balls faced are low. The impact of the innings is what matters according to Karthik.
“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,” Karthik said.
“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,” Karthik concluded.
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