For Kartik, it's country first, cash later

"I have been playing here the last four years – two years for Lancashire and two Middlesex. The only difference between the 20-20 here and in India is that back home the contest is lopsided in favour of the batsman -- very flat wickets, 65-yard boundaries and no movement for the faster bowlers.

"Over here, you have wickets which are flat but the conditions sort of even it out. Also here, there are decent-sized grounds."

So does it require anything special for a spinner to be successful in Twenty20?

"I think for any bowler to do well in any format you have to be good and know what to bowl at what time. For that, you need skill and the ability to execute it at critical junctures and when you are under the pump from the batsman. Of course, experience always helps so that’s something you develop.

"But spinners play a big role in any form of the game," the bowler is emphatic.

One of the stories making the rounds nowadays is the new Sri Lankan sensation, Ajantha Mendis, and Kartik, having been in the same Kolkata Knight Riders team with the bowler, had his own take on the bowler. "He was part of the Knight Riders for the last couple of games and played the last one. He is a different bowler, but as far as I think, he certainly can be picked."

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