'TNCA has no control over what KKR does' - L Sivaramakrishnan on Dinesh Karthik leading TN in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy [Exclusive]

Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has weighed in on Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik's future with the national team and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Sivaramakrishnan stated Karthik will find it difficult to make a comeback to the Indian cricket team. However, he added it will be 'fantastic' if the gloveman puts himself back in the reckoning with consistent performances in domestic cricket and in the Indian Premier League.

When asked about the importance of the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to Dinesh Karthik's future with the Indian team and the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sivaramakrishnan said:

"More for the IPL than for the Indian team. India have Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul. It's going to be very difficult for Dinesh Karthik to make a comeback to the team, but if he does it, it's fantastic."

"But I think it's more towards the T20 players getting to play. The Tamil Nadu team has done very well in white-ball cricket, and whatever tournament they play in, they'll want to win."

Sivaramakrishnan added that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association will be over the moon if Karthik manages to lead the team to the title. However, he iterated that such a scenario would have no bearing on whether the 2-time IPL champions decide to reinstate the 35-year-old as their skipper.

"If Dinesh Karthik can captain Tamil Nadu to a win in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, everyone in the TNCA will be delighted. But as far as IPL goes, TNCA has no control over what KKR does. The TNCA will look at Dinesh Karthik as someone who can contribute in all departments to win the tournament."

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England is a country, TN is just a state: Sivaramakrishnan on the KKR captaincy situation

Sivaramakrishnan believes Morgan might have an advantage because he is an international captain

Sivaramakrishnan stated results in first-class cricket may not always translate into success at the IPL level. He added that the KKR management might be more inclined to have Eoin Morgan at the helm because he is an international captain, while Karthik is only the leader of a state team.

"Each franchise has different players from different states. In my opinion, we should not mix first-class cricket and IPL up. KKR might want Eoin Morgan as captain, because he leads England, which is a country. Tamil Nadu is just a state."

The 54-year-old was quick to point out the flaws in having a non-Indian player lead an IPL team. Sivaramakrishnan said it's important to have flexibility around the four overseas spots in the XI in order to adjust to different conditions.

"However, one of the reasons franchises appoint Indian captains is because he's definitely going to play in the XI. When you appoint a foreigner, then you're left with only 3 other choices for foreigners. When you have an Indian captain, you can rotate the foreigners according to the playing conditions and the situation."

Dinesh Karthik stepped down as KKR captain midway through IPL 2020 after an 82-run defeat at the hands of Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore. He led the team to 4 wins in the 7 games he was in charge, but KKR won only 3 of their remaining league matches under Eoin Morgan to miss out on the playoffs.

On the other hand, Karthik has been excellent as the white-ball skipper of Sivaramakrishnan's state Tamil Nadu. The Chennai-born keeper led the team to the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, but fell short at the hands of Karnataka on both occasions.

Tamil Nadu's squad for the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Vijay Shankar (vice-captain), B Aparajith, B Indrajith, M Shahrukh Khan, C Hari Nishanth, K B Arun Karthik, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, N Jagadeesan, Aswin Crist, M Mohammed, G Periyasamy, Sandeep Warrier, J Kousik, R Sonu Yadav, M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, L Suryaprakash, Jaganath Sinivas