Dinesh Karthik says he is indebted to VVS Laxman

Mumbai: Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik on Saturday acknowledged Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar's influence in resurrecting his India career and also said he was indebted to V.V.S. Laxman for a piece of advice.

“A conversation with VVS actually opened me up as a cricketer after the last IPL. He said, at this stage of my career, the most important thing is to be able to win matches for the country. He said scores like 30s, 40s and even 100 don't matter. It was like a brainwave. I tried to follow it up. I am indebted to him for those words,” Karthik said.

“I want to play as long as possible, I was lucky to meet Abhishek and go through the process set by him. I had a lot of doubts about my future with Team India before meeting him. He showed me light at the end of the tunnel and things are different now. I hope it is just a start. It is hard to produce last ball sixes every time, but I want to keep producing match-winning knocks whenever I get an opportunity,” he added.

Karthik was the toast of India when he took the team home with a stunning six off the last ball. The TN cricketer said the feeling had sunk in now. “For me it’s not just those eight balls, more than that it's been whatever things I have done in the last 14 years. I made a lot of small and unbeaten knocks and it gave me a lot of confidence. Then I scored 39 not out against Sri Lanka and I thought I could finish games,” said Karthik.

Karthik believes that his recent exploits will earn respect from his Kolkata Knight Riders. “I hope a lot of boys will be proud of his captain. IPL will be a new start for me and I have to be confident as a batsman and a captain,” he said.