Dinesh Karthik has made it clear he has no plans of quitting first-class cricket to focus on limited overs, saying he will continue to pursue his dream of claiming the Ranji Trophy title for Tamil Nadu.
Last month, India middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu had announced his retirement from first-class cricket to focus on ODIs and T20Is.
Asked if he thinking in similar lines, Karthik said: “No, I haven’t thought about it because I really enjoy playing for Tamil Nadu. I think one of the joys of the sport is playing for the state.
“The minute I think that people see me as a burden playing for Tamil Nadu I will take a step back,” he told reporters ahead of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ match between Tamil Nadu and Kerala beginning Thursday.
“I will play for Tamil Nadu as long as possible only because of the dream of winning that one title for me – the Ranji Trophy. Still not been able to achieve it, so I will keep trying as many years as I can play for Tamil Nadu.”
The dashing wicketkeeper-batsman, who enjoyed a good 2018 including his heroics in the Nidahas Trophy final in Sri Lanka, said it was a phenomenal year.
