Calcutta: Dinesh Karthik, the almost-always-smiling and energetic captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), spoke to The Telegraph at the ITC Sonar.

Excerpts....

Q You made your India debut in 2004 and the IPL started four years later. Your thoughts on a decade of the world's premier T20 tournament...

A When I was aspiring to play for India, I'd look at the Ricky Pontings and the Matthew Haydens and think they were very intimidating. It was like wow... Ponting and Hayden... But had I been an aspiring India cricketer now, in 2018, I would have had the chance to play in the IPL and, as a result, rub shoulders with the equivalent of Ponting and Hayden... Indeed, the IPL has given a lot of youngsters self-belief to move ahead with confidence. As a platform, it has been terrific and levelled the playing field for our cricketers. One wouldn't be that intimidated today.

Q Hasn't the IPL encouraged a fair degree of fearlessness as well?

A The T20 format is such that to succeed, you need to be fearless. Taking strike and hitting the first ball for six used to be rare, if not unthinkable. Now, so many do it. They are willing to explore (run-getting opportunities).

Q What's the pressure like in the IPL?

A It's different from what you face while playing for India... Momentum is a big driver in the IPL and if your team has it, you're headed in the right direction. However, if you lose momentum, things go down very fast. The IPL is one big emotional roller coaster.

Q Were you surprised when KKR, your sixth IPL franchise, offered you the captaincy?

A No.

Q Why do you say that?

A I knew I'd get some leadership role as I'd played in all editions of the IPL... Had experience and captained the Delhi DareDevils in six matches... Besides, KKR had quite a few youngsters. Look, I could have been the vice-captain.

Q How would you describe your captaincy?

A I'm somebody who inspires by his own performances, by the way he conducts himself on and off the field. My discipline... I look to inspire by my actions, not just words.

Q A captain sets the tone... Besides success, obviously, what are you striving to achieve as the KKR captain?

A To treat wins and losses equally. So far, touch wood, I've succeeded.

Q How did you introduce yourself during meeting No.1 with the Knights?

A Told them I'm a fun loving and relaxed character... Also said I expected basic things on the field.

Q You have talented U-19s. Do you speak in a different language to them?

A I feel I'm myself an U-19! So... I'm not somebody who likes to give advice... I throw questions to them and they find the answers... I'm not somebody to say this is what you should do. After all, I'm nobody to tell the U-19s how they should lead their lives. My job is to give them the belief, it's better than just advice. We love guys who go through their journey themselves.

Q Role model captain?

A I've learnt a lot from many... For example, I really liked the way Rahul Dravid dealt with players, particularly the way he assigned roles... Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be so calm, you just couldn't get anything from his body language... Ponting too inspired by the way he got the team together, the way he cultivated belief in each player. Ponting made his players believe they could do something special... My favourite, of course, is Virat Kohli. He inspires through sheer performance. The way Virat trains, the way he handles his diet... There's a lot everybody can learn from him. It's because of his preparations that Virat has such amazing consistency. I haven't seen any cricketer prepare the way he does.

Q Some words on KKR...

A Well, KKR is a big franchise and the owners (Shah Rukh Khan, Jay Mehta and his wife Juhi Chawla) have been phenomenal. They haven't interfered and their approach is such that if we lose, it's not as if they will be waiting for answers on the boundary. There's empowerment to make decisions... I've learnt a lot from MD and CEO Venky Mysore... The way he handles people... I love the way Venky handles a lot of the tough decisions. He's a great leader in the franchise.

Q Jacques Kallis, a legend, is the KKR's head coach. How would you describe your partnership with him?

A I never understood what Jacques said when we played against each other. Even now, I can't make out much! All because of his South African accent... But, seriously, Jacques is a superb guy with an excellent sense of humour... It's good to have him in our midst as he brings up the technical points.

Q What did you learn the most from your earlier franchises?

A I've learnt what went wrong in certain franchises and what worked for some. So, I've tried to bring those lessons on board in KKR, idea being not to do anything silly.

Q As we speak, KKR have three wins and as many losses... How are you looking at the remainder of this IPL?

A We're channelising all our energy towards making the play-offs. Let us get there first. It is one thing at a time.

Q To talk of your career as an International... How do you look back on the 14 years?

A It has been an interesting journey. I'm not someone who dwells too much in the past. Actually, my memory is very poor. Sometimes, I don't even remember names.

Q Dhoni made his India debut some months after you did and his career sky-rocketed. Didn't Dhoni's phenomenal rise hurt your career?

A That's one way of looking at it. However, I never saw it that way... I told myself that someone like Dhoni will play all formats (two then), and asked how do I then find a place in the India team?

Q You challenged yourself?

A I tried to get into the India team as a batsman, irrespective of what others thought about it or thought about me. Not for a moment did I change my opinion about myself... I constantly strived to be in form with the bat. I believed I could contribute as a batsman and I kept coming back into the India team as one. I still believe I can play purely as a batsman... That said, wicketkeeping does come to me naturally and I field well too, minus the big gloves.

Q Was it hard accepting criticism that your 'keeping wasn't on a par with your batting?

A Wicketkeeping is a lot like umpiring, as it's a thankless job. People only remember you for your mistakes. You try and do your best everyday, but you won't be at your best every single day. If a catch is dropped, the TV replays will go on and on... If you take that to heart and feel bad about it, then it will be very hard to play cricket... For every 10-12 catches, there are going to be one or two drops. That has to be accepted.

Q The last one... Your favourite squash player?

A (Laughs) If I don't say Dipika (Pallikal), then my marriage would be in trouble! You have my answer.