India and West Indies will soon lock horns when they take to the field for the first ODI of the three-match series on February 6 at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. It will be a momentous occasion for India as they will become the first nation to play 1000 ODI matches and cricketer Dinesh Karthik has reassured the fans that the future is in safe hands.
Talking about this milestone, Karthik talked about being a part of the journey and how having Rahul Dravid as head coach will benefit India.
"To be the first team to play 1000 ODIs is a phenomenal achievement, it is hard to put it into perspective considering India has been playing for a long time now. But to play 1000 ODIs is no joke. I am so proud to be part of that journey, I have enjoyed playing the ODI format. We have been good at it. We have been a strong force over a period of few decades.
"We do have a lot of matches but players are given ample opportunity to rest, Rahul Dravid is the kind of person who will encourage players to speak how they are feeling mentally and physically. He will accommodate players' wishes in terms of giving rest so I think India is in a very safe space right now," elaborated Karthik.
{{/usCountry}}"We do have a lot of matches but players are given ample opportunity to rest, Rahul Dravid is the kind of person who will encourage players to speak how they are feeling mentally and physically. He will accommodate players' wishes in terms of giving rest so I think India is in a very safe space right now," elaborated Karthik.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, reacting to skipper Virat Kohli's sudden decision to step down from the captaincy role, Karthik recalled that Dhoni had once told him that having split-captaincy in India is very hard, although the veteran cricketer did not find it fair on his behalf to place his opinion on the decision made by Kohli.
"I remember MS Dhoni saying very clearly that India as a cricketing nation is very hard to have split captaincy. It is unfair for me to answer this question because only Virat knows why he took that decision to step down as captain, and I am sure he has a good reason behind it," Karthik told ANI.