Rajkot: After being on the sidelines for almost three years, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that he is enjoying every moment of his second stint with the Indian team.
Karthik put behind a disappointing IPL 2021 campaign to excel in the finisher’s role with Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022. He hit 330 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 180 as he played a key role in RCB’s run to the play-offs.
Ahead of the fourth T20I against the Proteas in Rajkot, Karthik said that his dream of playing for the Indian team has kept him going for a decade or so.
#TeamIndia comeback ✅
Motivation level 💯
His journey from India's 1st T20I to now 👌You wouldn't want to miss this special interview with @DineshKarthik. 😎 👍 #INDvSA | @Paytm
Full interview 📽️ 🔽 https://t.co/ktexXftzL0 pic.twitter.com/F5YSS6D4Qi
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 16, 2022
“Very happy, very proud… it’s an incredible atmosphere and team to be part of. For the last three years now, from the outside, I have been looking in and I know what a special feeling it is to be part of this team. And to be part of this team, I am very happy and very grateful and am enjoying every second that I am here,” Karthik told BCCI on the eve of the 4th T20I in Rajkot.
“I have been dropped so many times. I have always wanted to come back into the Indian team. Wherever I have played.. whether it’s domestic cricket, the IPL, the fire in the belly and the urge to come back here and wear the national colours and represent India has been something I dream of every day and that has something that has kept me going consistently in the last decade or so.
“I have always found ways to enhance my game and I have always had people, special people, around me to help me in that journey and they have been part of this journey.
“The fact that I have always wanted to come back to the national team and do well has been the shining light, so to say, in my life for a very very long time now,” he added.
