"One Of The Best Team Environments I Have Been In": Dinesh Karthik Hails Current Coaching Setup

Dinesh Karthik has had a great 2022 so far, as he made his comeback into India's T20I playing XI on the back of strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2022. Ever since his return, the right-handed batter has played in 13 T20Is this year, scoring 174 runs and making the finisher spot his very own. In the first T20I of the five-match series against West Indies, Karthik showed what he is made of, scoring 41 runs off just 19 balls, helping India post 190 runs on the board.

India are currently leading the five-match series 2-1, and ahead of the fourth T20I, Karthik addressed a press conference where he spoke about his performances and expectations.

"Pressure is a privilege at this point in time. As a cricketer, as a sportsperson, it is something which is given only when you are playing at the highest level and people expect certain things from you, so I am happy. I think what is important is making sure that on a given day, what the match situation is, reading the match situation and trying to give your best on that given day," said Karthik while replying to an NDTV question during a press conference.

When asked about what he has worked upon in his game, Karthik said: "Power-hitting. That is something I have worked on, I wish I had done that I little earlier in my life but for the moment, it is going well. Extremely happy, this is what I have aimed for in my entire life, for the captain and coach to have so much belief in me, so it is only fair that I repay it back by giving the team the performances which will help the team to cross the line. This is the happiest I have been being a part of the Indian team, the amount of love and affection I have got, not only from the team and the fans, but the backing I have got from captain and coach."

"Finisher role is one such that it is hard to be consistent. Every time you get in, you should be able to make an impact that will help the team. There are a lot of factors that can make it tougher for you, especially in the Caribbean and Miami, wind will be a massive factor, even though it is a sport which is played with a heavy ball, the wind dictates some of the times, where you play the shots. It works both ways, the bowlers are clever and they try to force you to hit into the wind as much as possible. That makes it all the more tougher," he added.

The 37-year-old also said that this is the best team environment he has been part of and he also hailed the coaching staff for maintaining consistency and continuity.

"I think I have said it a lot and I will keep saying it, I think this is one of the best team environments I have been in because of the consistency and continuity they seem to be giving to players. They are not judged on an everyday basis and they are given time, they are given the opportunity to fail. I think it is very important to give players the opportunity to fail and then move on to the next player," said Karthik.

"In India, there are so many players right now, the general feeling is the one who is playing is always better than the one who has played the game. I think a lot of credit needs to be given to Vikram Rathour, Paras Mhambrey, and Rahul Dravid, for having that mindset wherein they don't get carried away by good-looking players, they are able to understand what a player must have gone through to give a failure on a given day and back them and have the right conversation with them so that they can get the right performance from the player. The best of teams in any sport have been able to maximise their talent and that is something this current Indian team is doing well," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team West Indies vs India, 2022 Dinesh Karthik Rahul Dravid Rohit Sharma Cricket