Playing The Next Two T20 World Cups Is My Primary Objective, Says Dinesh Karthik

Many would be surprised to know that Dinesh Karthik had made his India debut way back in 2004 and was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup win in South Africa. He was last seen in India’s Blue jersey in the ICC World Cup 2019 and since then, has been not considered for India’s limited-overs engagements.

Meanwhile, Karthik, who was made the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain in IPL 2018, stepped down mid-season in IPL 2020 which was played in the UAE behind closed doors. Eoin Morgan of England took over as captain after KKR struggled throughout the tournament and didn’t qualify for the playoffs as well.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik has been busy building the Tamil Nadu team as a dominant force in the Indian domestic cricket, which he sees is a way for him to stage his international comeback, especially that India will play two T20 World Cups in as many years with the 2021 edition being played in India itself.

I Am Targeting The Two T20 World Cups: Dinesh Karthik

The 35-year-old Tamil Nadu batsman has expressed his desire to represent Team India at the grandest stages of them all – the 2020 T20 World Cup which will be hosted by the 2007 champions.

“Playing the next two T20 World Cups is my primary objective,” Karthik was quoted saying in an interview to the 100MB Master Blaster website.

Dinesh Karthik had played in India’s very-first T20I match, which came against South Africa at The Wanderers Stadium in 2006, last played a T20I against Australia, scoring 8* in 3 balls. He is also known as the hero of the Indian team’s Nidahas Tri-series T20 Trophy win, as he hit a six off the last ball when five runs were needed to win the final against Bangladesh.

“A couple of years ago, I was not playing a lot of cricket for Tamil Nadu. I saw that we were not qualifying for the knockouts. I set up a system where each person knows their role. They realised how difficult it is to play for Tamil Nadu. Playing for your state is something that is very valuable, and it should not be taken for granted,” Karthik said about his impressive run in the domestic circuit.

Also Read: ICC Test Rankings: Rishabh Pant Achieves Career-Best Ranking; Ravichandran Ashwin Makes Significant Gains In Bowlers and All-Rounders Rankings