Kolkata (West Bengal): Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik asserted that he respects Indian cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who are at their helm to decide what should be the best Indian team for the forthcoming T20 World Cup, starting from June 1 in West Indies and USA.
Dinesh Karthik has been exceptional with the bat in the ongoing 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is the third leading run scorer for RCB this year with 226 runs in six games at a staggering strike rate of 205.45, averaging 75.33 after Virat Kohli (361) and skipper Faf du Plessis (232).
Speaking at pre-match press conference, Karthik said, "I also feel there are three very, very stable, honest people who are at their helm to decide what should be the best Indian team for the World Cup. Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, and Ajit Agarkar. And I'm completely with them. I respect any decision that they take. But all I can say is I'm 100% ready. And you know I'll do everything I can to be on that flight to the World Cup."
The wicketkeeper-batter also commented that nothing is better than representing India in the T20 World Cup in my life and it would be the greatest feeling.
"At this stage in my life, it would be the greatest feeling for me to represent India (at the upcoming T-20 World Cup). I'm very, very keen to do so. There is nothing bigger in my life other than representing India in this T-20 World Cup," he added.
The 38-year-old, who plays for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit, has also played some brilliant innings as a finisher. His 83-run knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad was a testament to his ability and form currently he is in. He had amassed a brisk 83 runs off just 35 balls under pressure when his side was struggling at 111/3 after nine overs in chase of 288 runs, the highest target in IPL history. He kept RCB in the hunt until he was present on the ground as the hosts lost by only 25 runs in the mammoth chase.
"Look, I think these days as a player, you need to understand your strengths. I'm not [Andre] Russell or [Kieron] Pollard who can mishit a ball and get a six for it. So I need to understand how I do. How I can beat gaps, what sort of balls I can hit for boundaries. And I realised there was a certain pattern in which bowlers were bowling to me. So, I needed to try and work out a solution for that. And hence, when I practice, I try and understand, okay, this is what they're going to bowl at me," Karthik explained on his finisher role in the RCB team.
"How am I going to get a boundary visualizing a field that is going to be in place for me? So I worked like that, and I worked backwards, and that's helped me, you know, really learn a couple of shots more, you know, at the back end. It's been great to go out there and express myself, and it's been thoroughly enjoyable to do what I'm doing for RCB as a finisher," Karthik concluded.
Earlier, the India skipper Rohit Sharma was seen teasing the RCB batter about the selection of players for the upcoming T20 World Cup after the latter smashed 53 off just 23 balls to help his team post 196 in 20 overs against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
"Shabash DK! World Cup khelna hai abhi. (Well done DK! There is a T20 World Cup coming up)," Rohit was caught saying on the stump mic to Karthik.
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