Perfecting the act of juggling

When he talks about cricket, its challenges and how it has pushed him as a person, Dinesh Karthik sounds like a weather-beaten old pro. Minutes later, when Nikita, his fianceé who he will marry on May 2, shows up to take him shopping, he grins like an idiot on a first date. Still shy of his 22nd birthday, and yet with 44 first-class matches and 25 internationals under his belt he's young when he can be, and mature when he must.

Already, in his brief career, he's had a variety of roles to play. From a keeper who could bat a bit, to someone who made a gutsy and selfless 93 in a Test-win against Pakistan, to being a middle-order batsman and cover fielder in one-dayers, to finally opening the batting in Test matches, Karthik has had to wear many different hats.

Having just led Tamil Nadu to triumph in the inaugural domestic Twenty20 championships, Karthik is constantly looking at what he can take out of the game. "If you look at your game in Twenty20 cricket you'll realise that you can play some shots that you did not think were there in your armoury. It's important to find out what those shots are by playing them," he told Cricinfo. "It's happened to me a couple of times that I've been surprised by a shot that I've played. It's given me a lot of confidence and that's the way to approach it. Another thing is that you're still looking to score runs. So in some ways it's like a 50-over game as well. The last 10 overs are the same in terms of fields set and what you need to do whether it's a Twenty20 game or a 50-over game."

But equally, he realises that while some things need to be done differently, there's plenty that's common to different forms of cricket. "At the end of the day when you go in to bat there are some things you should look to do the same way, whether it is Twenty20 or opening the batting in Tests. You still have to look to play the ball correctly, not have too many things on your mind when you're batting," he said. "In Twenty20 the accent is on improvising, in Tests it is on getting your routines right. Overall the basics of preparation for all forms remain the same, and only then do you give yourself a chance to perform consistently."

The one thing that has always stood out about Karthik is his confidence and that sometimes borders on cockiness, whether it is how he approaches batting or his energetic swagger and the way he carries himself off the field. Ask him about opening the batting in Tests in the forthcoming series against Bangladesh and it's no different. "I haven't opened the batting consistently, but I honestly feel I have the technique to do it," he says. "I've not looked at it as a long-term thing. I've been asked to do the job for this series and I'm going to look at it like that. It's going to be an experience for sure and a different challenge."

Yet, while he wants to take it one series at a time, Karthik certainly views the tour of Bangladesh as a chance to cement his place in the side, perhaps because he failed to do so earlier in his career, when he got the chances, scoring only 25 and 11 batting at No.7 in Tests in India's last tour of Bangladesh, and then being dismissed for 1 and 1 at the same position in Zimbabwe. "As a youngster Bangladesh is an ideal opportunity for me to cement my place in the team by showing that I have the maturity to play at that level," he says. "That can be done with a couple of good knocks. The rest is not in my hands, but I always believe there's somebody up there who will guide me."

One thing that has come to Karthik perhaps too early is the suggestion that he might be leadership material at the highest level. It's one thing doing the job for Tamil Nadu in Twenty20 cricket, standing-in for S Badrinath who was ill, but at the moment Karthik is barely even a regular in the team at the national level. He didn't even get a game in India's disappointing World Cup campaign.

But Karthik does have some interesting thoughts about captaincy. "It's true that I am young but at the end of the day I have played some cricket at the international level so when I lead Tamil Nadu the boys look up to me, and look to me to perform," he says. "It's important that I stand by the boys and live up to the trust and faith they have in me. That can only be done by leading from the front and that means getting runs and keeping well. It also means getting the boys to do what you want them to do and make sure that they like you as captain."

The Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the Twenty20 Championship was in the bag, and Nikita was waiting. With a wedding in Chennai and a preparatory camp in Kolkata just around the corner there was a lot on Kathik's mind. "There is a lot happening at the moment, there are too many things in my head," he said, breaking into a grin. "But I just need to focus on the right thing at the right time."