Dinesh Karthik opens up on his role for Team India after POTM performance in 1st T20I

Veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik gave a fine example of the finishing abilities he brings to the Indian team in the T20 format. The Tamil Nadu cricketer smashed West Indies bowlers all around the park, scoring a 19-ball 41 to propel India to 190 runs.

Karthik was deservedly named the Player of the Match as he played a crucial part in the team's 68-run victory. When asked about the role allotted to him by the team management in the shortest format, he labelled it an 'interesting role' that requires complete backing from the captain and the coach.

“I have been enjoying it (finisher's role) a lot. it is a very interesting role. It is not something that you can be very consistent with but on some days, you can make an impact on the team. You need the backing of the captain and coach and I have got that in abundance," he said after the match.

When asked about the things to do to be successful in finishing off the innings, Karthik said: "Assessing the wicket is important. On any given day, the last three-four overs that you bat, you need to be aware of a lot of things such as the shape of the ball, the softness of the ball, the wicket, and then you need to decide. These are a little bit of things and that comes with a little bit of practice.”

The 37-year-old was redrafted into the Indian team after successfully executing a similar role for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Karthik has truly been able to translate his IPL form into international cricket, putting forth a strong case for T20 World Cup 2022 selection.

India skipper Rohit Sharma also opened up on the objective behind the current set of games. With one eye on the showpiece event in Australia, Rohit explained the facets the Indian team is trying to improve.

“There are three facets of the game which we are trying to improve. We gotta try and back the ideas about executing it with the bat. We want to try certain things and all in all I thought it was a great effort. Certain pitches will not allow you to do that and we need to assess how we go about. It is all about backing your skills and strengths,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.