Chennai: By his own admission, the season has been a roller-coaster ride for Dinesh Karthik. He reached the dizzy heights of fame after a match-winning knock at the Nidahas T20 trophy in Sri Lanka and returned to India Test team after a gap of eight years in June, but soon found himself out of favour after failing in the first two Tests in England.
Karthik said barring Virat Kohli no one played well in England. “Conditions were tough. Only Virat was the standout performer in the first two Tests. With 0-2, there had to be some changes and the axe fell on me. And, I have taken it in my stride. In those kinds of tough situations, I need to stand up and do well. I haven’t lost hope as I always want to represent India in Tests,” added Karthik.
The competition to get into the India’s playing XI is getting tougher. Karthik said it’s a healthy sign. “The competition forces you to be keep improving to be part of the set up. But if you are not mentally strong, it could push you so far down and it will be hard to get there,” said Karthik.
Ravi Shastri has hinted that India wouldn’t be making changes in ODI squad in the run up to the World Cup. Karthik said he didn’t want to put pressure on himself by thinking about selections. “I am always looking for any opportunity that is coming my way, but selection is not in my hand. My job is to keep doing well in whatever match I am playing. I am not going to think too far ahead for the World Cup,” he added.
Karthik also said he has no plans to quit first-class cricket to focus on limited-overs. “I really enjoy playing for Tamil Nadu. I think one of the joys of the sport is playing for the state. The minute I think that people see me as a burden playing for Tamil Nadu I will take a step back,” he said.
