The lesser I think about the World Cup, the better it is for me: KKR captain Dinesh Karthik

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik on Saturday insisted that he was not thinking much about earning a spot in India’s World Cup squad but focussing on the Indian Premier League, where he will lead Kolkata Knight Riders.

The 33-year-old found himself out of favour as the Board of Control for Cricket in India selectors preferred Rishabh Pant for the reserve wicketkeeper’s slot during the One-day International series against Australia.

Pant, however, failed to deliver in the series, which India lost 2-3 and that brought Karthik back into the contention for the World Cup which begins on May 30.

“The lesser I think about the World Cup, the better for me,” Karthik said.

“Every IPL is important for a player like me. This year’s IPL is also important like every year’s,” Karthik told reporters on the eve of Kolkata’s opening IPL fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

“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,” said the 33-year-old.

When asked whether he would look to play the finisher’s role yet again, Karthik said: “It depends on the situation.

“There are a lot of games last year where I ended up batting in the 17th over. Having experience is good, if I get an opportunity to play more overs, I can showcase my skills.”

Kolkata will open their campaign against the team which had eliminated them in the second qualifier last year. There, Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan emerged as the Player of the match with an unbeaten 10-ball 34 and finished with impeccable figures of 3/19 with the ball.

“He is special bowler in T20s. We will do our best to tackle him with the game plan that we have,” Karthik said about Rashid.

“I think, having said that, they have a very good bowling attack and it’s going to be a very interesting game with two good teams playing against each other.”

Karthik was all praise for the Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata. “The soil has changed a bit and that has provided a lot more pace and bounce. That’s something we have enjoyed as a team and we have embraced it,” he said.

“It’s one of the better wickets going around with lot of pace and bounce. Credit to the curator and Dada [Cricket Association of Bengal chief Sourav Ganguly] for having such a sporting wicket throughout the year.”