For Kaarthick, it146;s the Dhoni effect

He8217;s been a sensation. Let8217;s accept it,8217;8217; says wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Kaarthick on Mahendra Singh Dhoni hitting a golden patch in recent times.

He8217;s been a sensation. Let8217;s accept it,8217;8217; says wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Kaarthick on Mahendra Singh Dhoni hitting a golden patch in recent times. 8216;8216;I just need to keep on improving. If I am consistent and able to deliver on crucial occasions, I am confident I will come back,8217;8217; he says8212;surely, the Dhoni effect.

While Kaarthick admits that Dhoni is streets ahead of the competition, he isn8217;t unduly perturbed at not being named in the ODI team for the West Indies tour next month. Instead, he is focussing on how to make the tour to Abu Dhabi with the India 8216;A8217; team, an impressive one.

Kaarthick is certainly India8217;s second choice wicket-keeper, after Dhoni. In fact, the Tamil Nadu keeper-batsman was just about warming up to the dressing room atmosphere when the Dhoni blitzkrieg happened.

The fourth-Test victory in Mumbai against Australia is still Kaarthick8217;s most memorable match. His impressive showing in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, including an aggressive 70 against Sri Lanka when India needed to win at all cost, highlighted his abilities to the fullest. More recently, the one catch off Sreesanth8217;s bowling against England in Indore, when he leapt to his right to dismiss Andrew Strauss, is the kind of effort he can deliver.

But Kaarthick admits that tinkering around with the present team composition wouldn8217;t do any good for the future. 8216;8216;The one-day side is performing exceedingly well. As far as the wicket-keeper8217;s job is concerned, Dhoni8217;s kept well and is now the world8217;s best batsman,8217;8217; he says.

For Kaarthick, Parthiv Patel and all those wicket-keepers trying to carve a niche in the Indian team, Dhoni8217;s raised the bar. 8216;8216;He8217;s exceeded expectations to the extent that the competitors will always have to deliver their best in order to match his performances.8217;8217;