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Ahead of his side's clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that it would be the "greatest feeling" for him to represent India at this point in his career and he will do all he can to earn a spot for the ICC T20 World Cup this year, starting from June 1 in the West Indies/USA.
RCB and KKR will be locking horns at Eden Gardens on Sunday. While KKR is in fine form and in the second spot with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points, RCB is struggling to win even a game. They have won just one game so far and lost the other six, which has relegated them to the last spot in the points tally with just two points. Ahead of the game, Karthik said during the pre-match press conference that there is nothing bigger for him to play for India and that there are three very stable and honest people in head coach Rahul Dravid, skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar to decide on the best team for the tournament. He said that he is 100 per cent ready for the competition. "At this stage in my life, it would be the greatest feeling for me to represent India (at the upcoming T-20 World Cup). I am very, very keen to do so. There is nothing bigger in my life other than representing India in this T-20 World Cup. I also feel there are three very, very stable, honest people who are at their helm to decide what should be the best Indian team for the World Cup. Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, and Ajit Agarkar. And I am completely with them. I respect any decision that they make. But all I can say is I am 100 percent ready. And you know I'll do everything I can to be on that flight to the World Cup." Dinesh is in fine touch during this season, scoring 226 runs in seven matches at an average of 75.33 with a strike rate of 205.45. He has struck two half-centuries, with the best score of 83. He has carried an inconsistent RCB line-up along with star batter Virat Kohli. Notably, it was Karthik's IPL form and his exploits as a finisher that earned him a spot in the T20 World Cup 2022. Back in 2022, he had scored 330 runs in 16 matches for RCB at an average of 55.00, with a strike rate of 183.33 and a solitary fifty. Karthik excelled as a finisher and accelarator in the final few overs and India brought him back into that role. In 28 T20Is for India in 2022, he scored 287 runs at an average of 20.50 and a strike rate of 141.38, with a half-century to his name. However, he had an underwhelming T20 WC in Australia, in which he made 14 runs in three innings. (ANI)
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