Dinesh Karthik believes that the younger players are not as perturbed as they used to be earlier. BCCI
The T20I series might appear low-key due to the absence of some of India's top stars but wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik termed it a great opportunity for the newbies to impress. Speaking on Tuesday (December 19) ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka, Karthik exuded confidence about the likes of Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Washington Sundar and felt they can make use of their chances during the course of the series.
"I think it's a great opportunity for all the young boys in the team," Karthik pointed out. "It's the first time they are part of the team, I'm sure these are exciting times for the young guys, I'm very confident that they will make the best use of the chances given to them.
"The ODI team is pretty set at the moment, there is a lot of stability. When it comes to T20Is, it's a great platform for a lot of young guys to come and showcase their talent so I think the Indian team reached a stage where no matter which team [is] put up, we are a very strong side achieving some good things on the field."
Karthik also acknowledged that times have changed in Indian cricket where a new member would be anxious when selected for the first time. With India's top domestic talent getting to rub shoulders with the best players around the world during the IPL, the transition has become easier, according to the 32-year-old.
"As senior players, we will just try and help these young guys as much as possible but all these young guys have [come] in with a lot of IPL experience behind them," he noted. "Some of them have played 20 games, some of them have played 30 so they are not as perturbed as they used to be in the earlier days so it gives them a lot of confidence coming into the international cricket setup."
Citing the example of Thampi, Karthik mentioned that the Kerala pacer has all the right attributes to succeed in the sport's shortest format. "I think he is a very very good talent," Karthik said. "He is sharp, he is quick and he is somebody who executes the yorkers very consistently and that's probably one of his biggest strengths, so he has all the ammunition required to play the T20 format. I'm sure he is going to do really well."
Sri Lanka skipper Thisara Perera, on the other hand, opted to focus on his own team rather spend time thinking about the new faces in the opposition ranks. After taking a lead in the ODI series with a thumping win in Dharamsala, Sri Lanka failed to seize the momentum and went on to lose the next couple of games, and the series. The skipper though wants to take only the positives from the three-match series, heading into the T20I leg of the tour.
"We don't think about their team because we want to play our own game and focus on our side," Perera quipped. "We have to plan for their batsmen and bowlers, we don't think if they are new or old players, we just want to play our natural game.
"We had a bad series but we still have to take the positives from our first match in Dharamsala and flush out the negatives. It's a new series, we had a good practice session today, so we want to give a good performance tomorrow," Perera added.
Even though Dasun Shanaka and Vishwa Fernando have been drafted into the T20I squad, Perera remained coy over their selection while stressing on the importance of giving young players opportunities. "We will take a call after analysing the conditions tonight and tomorrow morning," Perera said about his side's composition for the game. "Our management will come and inspect if there is dew and then we will decide tomorrow morning."
"Normally we have young players for T20s, we have to use them, else there is no point in bringing them from Sri Lanka. As a captain, I have to give the youngsters more confidence, They have to give their 100 per cent. Personally, I know they have a good mindset so they can do well."
