The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Kaarthick conscious about need to improve

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Friday, Jul 08, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Kaarthick conscious about need to improve

Sports Reporter

"Off-season training stint with Australian academy was helpful"

ON THE BALL: Rahul Dravid attempts to catch a ball during the training session at the camp. — Photo: AP

BANGALORE: : Last summer Dinesh Kaarthick almost confirmed his place in the Test team with a 93 that along with Rahul Dravid's 135 in the second innings helped India defeat Pakistan at Kolkata. Kaarthick, however, is yet to cement his place in the one-day squad as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's pyrotechnics with the bat has proved to be too high a benchmark and too tough a competition.

It is indeed strange that Kaarthick, Dhoni and Parthiv Patel are often remembered more for their runs. Probably it is a reflection of the changing times when a wicket-keeper is expected to deliver with the willow too.

In his interaction with the media here on Thursday, Kaarthick sounding confident said, "these days it is important to bat well. You should bat well when you get a chance up the order. I have always felt that I am a good wicketkeeper-batsman and I should capitalise on that."

Kaarthick, however, is conscious about the need to constantly improve his skills as a wicket-keeper and his learning curve got an fillip during his off-season training stint at the Australian Cricket Academy at Brisbane. "I was in Australia for three weeks and underwent rigorous training. It was very good. I interacted with Tim Nielsen, an Australian assistant coach for the past three years and he gave me a lot of tips. He has been with Victoria for a long time. It was basically technical, about collection of the ball on the leg side and other related aspects," Kaarthick said.

The 20-year old said he was also comfortable with the competition. "I want to play every level of cricket and I want to play one-day matches too. It is a good competition and all are looking to do well. I am focussing on my wicket-keeping and batting and I am looking at areas I want to improve upon and take my game to the next level.

"In Tests it is about getting more runs lower down the order and for getting into the one-dayers, I need to work on rotation of singles and also get more runs in domestic cricket. My confidence is high and I am feeling good," he said.

Kaarthick conceded that he needed to rein in his aggression. "Yes a lot of people have mentioned my aggression. May be I should curb it a bit but basically I am a positive and aggressive cricketer. That is my strong point. I have interacted with coach Greg Chappell too and he told me to make sure that my attitude is right for the game and to maintain my focus," Kaarthick said.

Meanwhile the probables at the conditioning camp had an outdoor session in the morning and later in the afternoon, they were busy at the gym inside the National Cricket Academy.

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