145;Comeback man146; Kartik not upset with frequent omissions

8220;I may have been in and out of the team, but I have faith in my abilities. I have always given my best shot when playing for the country and the only way to cement a place in the team is to keep performing well8221;, Kartik said.

8220;Competing against two high-quality spinners in India, it doesn8217;t look that hard. Technically speaking and personally speaking, I have done pretty well in 8216;A8217; tours abroad, so you always feel that you are in the running for the third spinner8217;s slot. If three people go against foreign teams, you can always do well8221;, he said.

Kartik said a spinner could be more effective and could use all his variations only if the batsmen had put up a big total on the board which would serve as a 8220;cushion8221;.

8220;It is very important to have runs on the board, that8217;s what a spinner wants, then he can attack. He8217;s got it at the back of the mind that you can attack, that you have got the cushion of those runs.

8220;But the batsmen may notgive you a big total all the time, so you have to be prepared for eveything and adjust your bowling according to the needs,8221; Kartik said.

Kartik said he always went on to the field hoping to bowl an attacking line and was never scared that the batsmen would go after him.

8220;A spinner can go for runs, specially in the one-dayers, but it is important to keep your composure. I come out with a pre-set thing that I am going to bowl my best and bowl the way I normally do. If they get after you and if it8217;s their day, you just can8217;t do much. You just hope and pray that things go your way,8221; the left-arm spinner said.

8220;Sometimes when things don8217;t go your way, you may feel bad at the end of the day. If everything was under my control, probably I would have been declared a match-winner in the second innings in Sydney against Australia.8221;

Asked whether he switched to a restrictive line if he gets a pounding from the batsmen. He said: 8220;It all changes according to the situation. I think anybody could do that, need not be me. Could be someone else. Negative line can happen. You always play as a team and if you have to play according to instructions, then you play according to instructions.8221;

Kartik admitted he was surprised to be omitted from the team in some of the matches of the one-day series against Pakistan.

8220;I was surprised. On such a surface, where everybody was going for lots of runs, it was a question of getting wickets in the middle overs which I have always managed to do. But it8217;s okay, it8217;s just that I have always had it in my system that whenever given a chance, you have got to give it your best shot8221;, he added. PTI