Suited to play Dhoni’s role: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik who was selected ahead of Rishabh Pant in the World Cup squad lost his spot due to his poor outings.

The Tamil Nadu captain who is playing the finishing role well for his team now in the Vijay Hazare Trophy said that he is keen to play a similar kind of role to India, something Dhoni has been doing for years now.

“It’s [The T20 World Cup] a year away but if I feel I can keep performing and have a good [domestic] tournament, I’m sure I will go out there and play,” Karthik, 34, told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the Hazare knockouts.

“Because, I feel it’s a key part that the Indian team is looking out as well – closing out matches and have someone who can understand those situations and do the best at that point of time. And I feel I’ve done that in the short time I’d played T20s [for India]. But, post the World Cup, I didn’t play; they clubbed it [poor run at the World Cup] with the T20 part of it and removed me from the team as well. But I feel that I’m well-suited to play that role Dhoni has played for so many years now. I feel I can do something like that and I’ve been doing that for KKR and Tamil Nadu. So, if a slot opens up there, that’s something I’ll be really looking forward to. The T20 World Cup is definitely something I’d want to play.”

Dinesh Karthik has done well so far for the Tamil Nadu team in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy with 360 runs to his name from the seven innings he played.