Quotes from Dinesh Karthik

As a middle-order batsman, a lot of times you have to trust your ability to play those big shots under pressure. It is also important to trust your partner at that time.

I am not somebody who sets goals... It's not something that I have enjoyed doing.

A finisher doesn't always mean you have to take the game deep and then bash to finish. It is all about understanding situations and then adjusting your game with the aim that you have to get the job done.

I have been pretty free-flowing in my batting. I have not let situations change my batting around too much.

I am capable of batting at No. 4, from where I can build an innings. I have performed the role in the past. I have also been coming later down the order and donned the role of a finisher.

Training helps you get physically stronger and a lot of times it helps you push the bar mentally as well.

I always wanted to do be an allrounder. I don't know why I picked keeping.

I think I'm pretty calm. But I am very restless and fidgety.

As a middle-order batsman, when you're chasing, trying to be the best finisher you can be, you're bound to make one or two mistakes.

I just love to play the sport. It maybe a cliche, but it's true for me. I'm constantly trying to be the best cricketer I can be. The sport has become a lifestyle.

I have a St Bernard dog. They are very tough to take care of in the tropical weather in Chennai. They usually are found in mountains and the snow.

Mindset is important, I should always think about finishing games from any position.

Playing at different positions is a challenge, and I've always believed that I can play in any situation and at any number in the batting order.

My dream is to play Test cricket.

One of the things you have to deal with is the pressure of expectations. It takes time for people to believe in yourself; to believe you can finish the innings. You try and do it consistently and that's what you aim to do as a batsman.

I heard a lot about Ian Botham's Ashes, in 1981. Everybody still talks about his performance.

It's easier to debut in a game than make a comeback, because in the latter, people know you and expect something from you. When you're playing your first match, they're just excited and don't know what you're capable of.

The first time I carried drinks was during the 2004 Champions Trophy. It was a wet outfield and I was running with the drinks and I couldn't stop myself and just went sliding into Sourav Ganguly, who was giving a team chat in the huddle.

As an international cricketer, you have to keep reinventing the wheel, being consistent is part of it.

I try to maintain an even tempo in all the games. Sometimes you play well and sometimes you get out. When you get out, you feel it is a wrong shot. Most players in tough situations play shots that could be out, but over time you refine that and give yourself the best chance of performing, the more you play in such situations.

The more you back yourself, the more consistent you become in finishing the game.

But at the end of the day, I am a firm believer of the fact that if I can do well nobody can stop me.

I'm a person who sometimes tends to worry too much about cricket. Previously I would think about the game for probably 15 hours, but now with the presence of my wife it has come down to ten hours, and I would like to bring that down to about nine.

I believe in empowering people rather than advising them and forcing them in a direction which I feel is right.