Karthik hopes to make his comeback count
India’s wicketkeeper thankful to tips from Shastri
It could well be the last of his innumerable comebacks but Dinesh Karthik is not losing sleep over it as he intends to build on the recent gains in international cricket by following the timely advice of India coach Ravi Shastri.
With young wicketkeeperbatsmen like Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant waiting in the wings and veteran Parthiv Patel still knocking on the selectors’ door, Karthik knows he has to keep performing, albeit only as a specialist batsman with M.S. Dhoni still the number one choice in limited overs cricket.
On current form, he could be the stable No. 4 batsman India is looking for in ODIs. “May be it is (the last of comebacks) but I have not looked at it that way,” Karthik said when asked about his latest comeback.
“If you start thinking on those lines (future in the team), you put extra pressure on yourself. I am satisfied with the way I batted in ODI series against New Zealand and would aim to do the same whenever I get the next opportunity.” The 32-year-old has lost track of the many comebacks he has made ever since making his India debut back in 2004.
The most recent recall was at the Champions Trophy in June and that too on the 11th hour as the Tami Nadu wicketkeeperbatsman replaced the injured Manish Pandey in the squad. He did not get a game in England but got his first game for India in over three years in the following limited overs series in the West Indies.
Important knock
The stylish right-hander scored an unbeaten 50 and 48 in three chances he got in the Caribbean before Pandey came back to replace him in ODIs in Sri Lanka. Karthik, a consistent performer on the domestic circuit over the past 24 months, was brought back into the ODI side for the New Zealand series after he struck two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy.
For him, the best part of the New Zealand series was that he got to play all three games. He made a promising 37 at No. 5 in opening ODI before making an undefeated 64 at his preferred No. 4 spot in the second game at Pune.
Karthik has joined a preparatory camp at the NCA to work more on his fitness and deal with a few niggles at the same time.
He doesn’t know what lies ahead but remains focused on improving his game with key inputs from coach Shastri as well as Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar. “Regarding my batting, I did have a long chat with Ravi bhai (Shastri).
“He was happy with my batting against New Zealand but he said there are still areas where I can improve upon.”