I want to try for a spot in the Test team now, says Dinesh Karthik

“It is important to make use of the opportunity given to me in the One-dayers. But I don’t want to keep thinking about it and put pressure on myself. The plan is to score runs whenever I get an opportunity. It feels good to score runs for the country. Feels good to be back to be back in the team. The aim is to play the World Cup in 2019.”

Karthik played for India during the West Indies tour as a proper batsman and was not given any wicketkeeping duties. Asked if he wants to drop the gloves and become a proper batsman, Karthik replied in negative.

“No. I would like to call myself an all-rounder. I am a genuine keeper and a genuine batsman. In a sense, I am a two-skilled player. I am a genuine all-rounder and can also field at any position. I have always had the confidence that I can play in any team as a batsman. Keeping comes naturally to me.”

“I didn’t play well in the first game (the fourth ODI). I was happy I could score in the final match in a winning cause. It was also nice to put up a partnership with Kohli. He is a great player to play with, a good judge of a run. He is very positive and vibrant person as well. He also made me feel good.,” Karthik said about his performance in West Indies.

“It is also about the impact one has on the team’s overall performance. It is about what I am giving to the team in the bigger cause. This is something I am focusing on presently,” he pointed out.

Karthik also spoke about the return of Chennai Super Kings to the Indian Premier League but he feels that will be a massive challenge for the franchise.

“It is a massive challenge. You know it is not easy to build a team from scratch. We don’t know anything until the rules come up. I would love to turn out for my home city. It is just that I have never been picked by CSK. There may be various reasons and it may be part of the franchise’s strategy,” he said.

On the domestic front, Karthik said that teams should get to play at home and away grounds instead of the neutral venues, a policy which did not receive a great response last season.

“I believe the neutral venues concept is a great effort by BCCI. But I feel teams must play at home and away as there is a lot of history attached to the home ground of every association.”

“It will be very interesting. It has to be seen what kind of domestic set-up they have. In today’s world it is important to keep Test cricket as exciting as possible,” Karthik said Afghanistan and Ireland getting Test status.