Newly-appointed captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, Dinesh Karthik, has revealed that he aspires to lead the IPL franchise like Virat Kohli captains the Indian cricket team. Karthik has opined that he wants to steer the ship of his team by his batting and not just words, much akin to what Kohli does.  

"Virat is a captain who leads by actions. His work ethic speaks a lot and that is something I would really want to try. I want to lead by example, rather than just talking. I want to go on the ground and would like my scores to speak," Karthik said.

Karthik, who scored 2903 runs in 152 IPL matches, has a very calm demeanor to his nature and rarely ever lashes out with anger. He, however, claims that he is an aggressive player, but that aggression doesn’t have to be outward.

"I am somebody who is not aggressive from the outside, but that does not mean I am not aggressive from inside. While playing a game, I am one of those guys who doesn't even speak to the opposition, either before a game or in the lead up to it.

“These are ways how I show my aggression. When the situation is tough, I can counter it. I may not show it through my body language, but deep down I am thoroughly aggressive with my cricket and I would like to take that forward.”

Kolkata Knight Riders have filled up their arsenal with blazing fast weapons like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who have the tendency of bowling in excess of 140 kmph. Karthik, however, suggests that it is only about the pace, but also the variations they should be working upon as the former is just one side of the pace bowling.

Karthik, though, is confident that the youngsters will learn from the coaches—Jacques Kallis and Heath Streak—that Kolkata hve.

 "They should not just concentrate on pace — that's just one aspect of fast bowling. In the IPL, you need variations and need to think ahead of the batsmen. We have Heath Streak as our bowling coach and he was very efficient.