As Team India are preparing for the World Test Championship, veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik said that this means a lot to the captain Virat Kohli. However, he is yet to win an ICC title since becoming captain of the Indian team across formats in January 2017. Notably, the inaugural final of the World Test Championship (WTC) against New Zealand will take place at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
“I think it will mean a lot to him. He has won the World Cup in the U-19 format, so he has tasted success in a multi-nation tournament. He was part of a World Cup winning team in 2011. So he knows what it means to be part of winning teams. He is always challenging himself and trying to push Indian cricket to greater heights,” Dinesh Karthik told Sports Today on eSalaamCricket.
He also said that India can be proud of the fact that they have reached the final after beating Australia Down Under before beat England 3-1 at home convincingly as well.
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“The WTC is played over two years, so probably that intensity of playing a World Cup is not there. The dynamics are a lot different, but India can proudly say that they have been pushed to the brink in terms of how suddenly the rules and they had to come up with a different approach to what they need to do in terms of reaching the final,” Dinesh Karthik further added.
Meanwhile, Tim Southee said that they are aware that the Indian team has a strong batting lineup with the players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their kitty and the pacer said that the Kiwi bowlers will have to be their best to succeed as well.
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“Rohit is a tremendous player in all three formats. He’s personally a guy I like watching bat. He can take the game away from opposition. But I know as a bowling group that it’s a dangerous batting lineup throughout. For he’s only one of many, many very good batters in this lineup and we know we’re gonna have to be on top of our game. It’s an exciting batting lineup, a mix of experienced guys and a couple of young guys who are coming to play with that freedom and the excitement that that they have. Nowadays, there’s plenty of footage out. So, we will discuss footage and then come up with plans which will hopefully work,” Tim Southee concluded.
