Dinesh Karthik has no plans of retiring from first-class cricket anytime soon

Veteran Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has delivered more often than not while representing the Indian national team in recent times. His ‘second inning’ has been an exceptional one thus far and he has surfaced as the new finisher of the Indian team in limited overs cricket. His heroics in the Nidahas Trophy final remain a top highlight of his career for sure, and the kind of form he has shown in the recent times, one could assume that there is more to follow.

Last month, another Indian veteran, Ambati Rayudu, called it quits in first-class cricket in a bid to focus more on the limited overs action. Recently, Karthik was also up against the same question, if he would be quitting FC cricket to focus on ODIs and T20s. In a firm response, he answered that he loves playing for Tamil Nadu and wants to win the Ranji Trophy for his side.

“No, I haven’t thought about it because 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,” Karthik quoted as per Times Now.

“I will play for Tamil Nadu as long as possible only because of the dream of winning that one title for me – the Ranji Trophy. Still not been able to achieve it, so I will keep trying as many years as I can play for Tamil Nadu,” he added further.

On the good times

Commenting on his return to the national side, Karthik reflected back at the last few months and called them interesting. He noted that he is not thinking too far ahead and is only focusing on one game at a time. He does not want to burden himself with thoughts of playing the World Cup next year and take extra pressure.

“It has been a phenomenal year. Very happy to be in the place that I am. There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming year. Actually, it is interesting times. I am not thinking so far ahead. Because as soon as I start thinking about the World Cup and all that there will be more pressure than what is already there. There is obviously the Australia series, New Zealand series. There is a lot of cricket coming up, I need to focus on that … the best I can do and take it from there,” said the veteran cricketer.

On the role of the finisher

Lastly, Karthik spoke about his new role in the lower middle order. Many pundits feel that he should bat slightly higher in the line-up, but there are others who reckon that he fits the lower middle order perfectly. He admitted that he is keen on working on the same and wants to finish games for the side.

“Look, I think that’s one aspect that I have been trying to work on, trying to finish games. I try to practice in such a way that I put myself in situations where I can practice that and things have been coming out pretty well in those kinds of tense situations,” conceded the wicketkeeper-batsman.

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