Dinesh Karthik was "happy" that nobody had asked him about his thoughts on finding a place in India's T20 World Cup squad till the question was finally put forward to him during the news conference ahead of Sunday's clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden on Sunday.
It was ahead of the ongoing IPL that Karthik had indicated that the current edition could be his last. On Saturday, however, Karthik, 38, walked a different track.
"At this stage of my life, it would be the greatest feeling for me to represent India. I’m very, very keen to do so. There’s nothing bigger in my life other than representing India in this T20 World Cup," Karthik, who also does commentary at present, said.
"I also feel there are three very, very stable, honest people who are at the helm to decide what should be the best Indian team for the World Cup... (Coach) Rahul Dravid, (captain) Rohit Sharma and (chief selector) Ajit Agarkar. And I’m completely with them and I respect any decision that they take.
Sunil Narine fine-tunes his batting during practice at Eden Gardens on Saturday. Santosh Ghosh
"All I can say is that I am 100 per cent ready and I will do everything I can to be a part (of the squad) and be on that flight to the World Cup," the RCB keeper-batsman stated.
In this IPL, Virat Kohli aside, it's Karthik who has stood out among the other RCB batsmen, tallying 226 runs with a couple of half-centuries at a strike rate of 205.45 and an average of 75.33.
"As a player, you need to understand your strengths," Karthik said, elaborating on his ability as a finisher.
"I'm not a (Andre) Russell or a (Kieron) Pollard who can mishit a ball and yet get a six for it. So, I need to understand what sort of balls I can hit for boundaries. Also, I realised there has been a certain pattern in which bowlers have been bowling to me, so I need to try and work out a solution for that.
"Hence, when I practise, I try and understand... visualising a field that's going to be placed for me. I work like that and that has helped me."
