A tennis buff, Dinesh Karthik doesn’t miss any chance to show his serve-and-volley game. Disappointed at not being able to make it to India’s Davis Cup tie against Japan, he caught some of the action on television, and then made up for it by having breakfast with Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna on Monday. In Delhi as part of Daredevils squad for the forthcoming IPL, Karthik spoke to the The Indian Express about his frustration at not playing on the Australia tour, being out of the national side, and on his comeback hopes. Excerpts:

Are you happy to get back to your wicket-keeping duties in the IPL?

•I played as a batsman briefly in the Indian team but I’m really happy to be back keeping wickets in the IPL. It’s my passion and I enjoy it. Even in Australia, I used to mix it up in the nets with batting. You could say that I concentrated 60 per cent on my batting and 40 per cent on my keeping. I am still the second wicketkeeper for the Indian team and I will keep in domestic matches whenever I get a chance.

You were India’s first T20 hero with a Man of the Match effort against South Africa. How important is this new opportunity for your career?

•I think T20 has come a long way, and changed completely now. It’s going be a new experience for me. I need to find a way to do well and, once I do that, I’ll take things from there. Hopefully, this IPL will change everything for me.

... contd.