CHENNAI: For the first time in IPL, Dinesh Karthik will captain a side. The skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders hopes he will carry the momentum of winning India the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka into the tournament starting next month.The last-ball six in the final against Bangladesh came at the right time. Karthik will be high on confidence and if he does well in the marquee event, it might help him bag a place in the India team for next year’s World Cup.
“The IPL is extremely important. If Indian cricket is where it is today, a lot of credit must go to the IPL. We have rubbed shoulders with the best. It has propelled our cricket in such a way that we are probably one of the best teams that play well in all three formats,’’ says Karthik.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are back in the league. Both have won the tournament in the past. Will their return make the IPL more competitive? “Definitely it will. CSK and Rajasthan bring totally different dynamics to the game. I am sure it will be a fabulous tournament this time.”
In Mumbai Indians, Anil Kumble had promoted Karthik up the order. The wicketkeeper-batsman did well that season. He carried on that form into the previous season in domestic cricket, helping Tamil Nadu win two titles. A notable change in his batting is he plays the same way in all three formats, somewhat like Shikhar Dhawan. Was it a conscious ploy to treat all formats equally?
“One thing common between me and Shikhar is we play lot of cricketing shots, in the sense that we play along the ground. Even if we are looking to loft, we do it with a slightly vertical bat. If it is Test cricket, we take our time and there is no hurry. If it is 50-50 or T20, we play shots accordingly.”
Karthik believes the strength of KKR is bowling, while batting too has experience. “The strength of my team is that we have a very good attack. We have a bunch of bowlers who are highly skilled and really good and I feel it will be a good fielding unit as well. In batting we have good experience in Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Robin Uthappa. I would like to bat at any position depending on the situation and where the coach wants me to play. It depends upon which over I want to go.”
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com