Dinesh Karthik not thinking too much about World Cup; his focus is now on IPL 2019

Last year, he stepped into the giant shoes of Gautam Gambhir and did well despite the high expectations. Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik also ended up as the highest scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) besides leading his side to be among the top three in the tournament, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad closely in the second-last game of the tournament. However, despite the good show last year and the tough competition this year to make the cut into the World Cup squad, Karthik said he is not thinking much about the quadrennial event and focusing more on the T20 tournament at the moment.

Race on between Karthik and Rishabh Pant for WC spot

Karthik, one of the longest survivors in Indian cricket not to have played a World Cup match (he was there in the 2007 edition squad but didn’t get a game), found himself out of favour in the recent ODI series against Australia at home as the Indian selectors went for the young Rishabh Pant. However, the 21-year-old failed to impress with both the gloves and the bat in the two games he played in the series, which means Karthik’s chances to make his second WC squad are still on.

The 33-year-old Karthik, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has proved himself to be a clinical finisher in the recent times and is in a cut-throat race with Pant for the berth of the second keeper in the side for the WC after Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pant will also be looking to do good in the IPL for his side Delhi Capitals. But the man is not thinking too much into the WC, saying the less he thought about it, the better.

“The lesser I think about the World Cup, the better for me. Every IPL is important for a player like me. This year’s IPL is also important like every year’s,” the Quint cited reports as quoting Karthik as saying.

“The most important thing for me is to do well for KKR and the team to do well. I am sure the World Cup will take care of itself for me,” Karthik told reporters on the eve of KKR’s opening game in IPL 2019, which is against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata on Sunday.

Karthik, who finished with 498 runs last year from 16 matches, said if he got to play more overs in this IPL, he could go on to show his skills better.

Here is the KKR squad for IPL 2019:

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