'Credit must go to Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid' - Dinesh Karthik on calm environment in Indian dressing room

The Indian team made it four wins out of four against the West Indies after dismantling the hosts in the T20I series opener, following the 3-0 whitewash in the ODIs. While there were many protagonists for the Men in Blue on the day, veteran batter Dinesh Karthik once again captured the hearts of millions with his exhilarating power-hitting in the death overs. After the game, the Tamil Nadu man lifted the lid on the atmosphere in the dressing room in a chat with compatriot Ravichandran Ashwin for BCCI TV.

Karthik, who made his debut for the national side almost 18 years ago, has seen a lot of changes during his time with the Indian team but believes the current setup under the guidance of head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma is the calmest he has witnessed. He applauded the coach and captain duo for handling failure in the ‘most rational way possible’ in a chat with returning spinner Ravichandran Ashwin following the emphatic win in the opening match.

“I think it’s a very, very different team (compared to what he had seen in his journey over the years). I must admit I’m really enjoying the set-up. The kind of calmness that seems to be around this set-up in terms of the coach and captain, I think a lot of credit must go to both of them (Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid) because they have set up an atmosphere where they are dealing with failure in the most rational way possible, which I think is a lot of credit to them,” Karthik said in an interview for BCCI TV.

At times when I didn’t do well, I still felt I was treated the same way: Dinesh Karthik

The Indian team management is currently looking at the best possible combination ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, commencing in October this year. Karthik, who has rejuvenated his career after modifying his game to accommodate the role of a finisher for RCB this year, credited the team for backing him even when he was not doing well.

“At times when I didn’t do well, I still felt I was treated the same way. The dressing room atmosphere was pretty calm and it was good. These are the small tick boxes that we need to have at this stage of the game,” added Karthik.