Ultimate goal is to do well in the T20 World Cup: Karthik

Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was instrumental in India’s victory against the West Indies in the first T20 international here, said his ultimate aim is to lift the upcoming T20 World Cup title in Australia.

Karthik, with his breezy unbeaten innings of 41 off just 19 deliveries at the Brian Lara Stadium, performed the finisher’s job brilliantly once again and took India to a solid 190 for six, after the visitors batted first.

The innings turned out to be extremely crucial.

”These are small tick-boxes that we need to have at this point. But the ultimate goal is to do well in the T20 World Cup,” Karthik told teammate Ravichandran Ashwin on BCCI TV.

The 37-year-old, who made his debut for India way back in 2004, was full of praise for the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team.

”I think this is a very different team and I am enjoying this set up. There is a great sort of calmness that is around the captain and the coach, a lot of credit must go to them,” Karthik added.

In an international career of almost 19 years, Karthik was part of the Indian teams that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.