The veteran Indian batter, Dinesh Karthik has been acing the finisher’s role in the ongoing T20I series against West Indies as well. In the opening game, he played an unbeaten knock of 41 off just 19 deliveries and was instrumental in India’s win over the Caribbean side. But former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes Karthik isn’t performing the role of a finisher. At present, the seasoned batter sees a defined role, having reveled in his new batting responsibility where he has got little time to get his eyes in.

However, Dinesh Karthik has shown no signs of aging as he desperately wants to play for India in this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. He has been going from strength to strength since making his return to the Indian set-up. The shortest format of the game may have changed the dynamics of the sport but for Srikkanth, a finisher is someone who takes the game deep and wins it, as opposed to Karthik’s carnage in the final four overs.

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During a chat on FonCode, Krishnamachari Srikkanth said,”Your definition of a finisher is wrong. Yes, Dinesh has been doing very well. He has been brilliant in the IPL and a few matches here. But that is not a finisher! A guy who can take the match from 8th or 9th over and finish it can be called a finisher. What Dinesh is doing can be called final touches. Take Suryakumar Yadav. We saw that he almost single-handedly won the match in England. That’s the finishing role.”

He further added, “Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant are finishers… and our captain (Rohit) can open and play till the 17th over in 12th gear is also a finisher. An actual finisher doesn’t play between 16-20 overs. A finisher is a guy who takes the match along from 8th or 9th over and eventually finishes with 60 odd runs. Dinesh’s role is defined. He is doing fantastic but he is fine-tuning the finishing role instead of actually being a finisher.”

Dinesh Karthik, who made his debut for India way back in 2004, wants to help India win the upcoming T20 World Cup in his fresh spell with the national side. He was also a part of the side that won the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

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During a recnet chat with R Ashwin on BCCI.tv, Dinesh Karthik had said, “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. 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.”