Dinesh Karthik on Sunday acknowledged that he has an onerous task of replacing a very successful Gautam Gambhir but asserted that he has it in him to steer Kolkata Knight Riders to at least the IPL Play-offs and get the best out of his side.
KKR think tank chose not to retain two-time IPL winning skipper Gambhir and handed the reins of the team to the Tamil Nadu batsman, bought for ₹ 7.4 crore.
“What Gautam Gambhir has achieved for KKR is phenomenal. He’s left a benchmark,” Karthik said after joining his new team and on the sidelines of a their jersey launch.
Under Gambhir, KKR twice emerged champions (2012, 2014) and also made the Play-offs thrice (2011, 2016 and 2017).
Karthik has wealth of experience having played for as many as five different IPL franchisees — Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions.
“Being a leader of the team, the management will expect from me the same. I’m aware of the expectations. Yes, there would be pressure. As a captain, you’re expected to at least go to the playoffs, that’s the least anybody can expect. I think I’m at a stage where I can handle it and get the best out of the team,” he asserted.
Karthik looked a transformed batsman in the Tri-nation final against Bangladesh in Colombo last month when his last-ball six sealed a nervy win for India.
“It’s been close to 10 days now since that innings, things have moved on, people have moved on. We have a new bunch of boys. It was a great game as I’ve said. When we play Bangladesh, it’s a different kind of pressure. If you win, you are like ‘okay you’ve won’, but if you lose it’s like ‘wake up, what you doing’ types.
“We had a good start, it dipped in the middle. I just had to hit boundaries when I got in. I was lucky on that day. We had a good season, and for us not win that game would not have been nice to end the series. It was a great feeling.”
Karthik hinted that he might promote himself in the batting order when they open their IPL-11 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore at home.
“Obviously I will bat at different position than what I did in the Indian game. IPL is about dealing with tricky situation, handling pressure. It’s just a week to go and I don’t think I will treat myself any differently. Everybody is here to do their best and I’m no different. Everybody has a role to play,” he said.
While Karthik will be busy with his IPL assignment, his wife and India’s squash ace Dipika Pallikal is eyeing a second gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
“One thing I’ve learnt from her is a lot of determination. She’s worked really hard especially for the CWG. Four years back she won gold in Glasgow. As a player, the most important thing is to be able to repeat it and be consistent. She’ worked really hard in the last four years to get a gold again. She’s already in Gold coast. It’s very important two weeks in her life,” he said.