2007 T20 World Cup-winning batsman, Robin Uthappa, recently registered his aspirations for featuring in another ICC world tournament.
Uthappa, however, has been out of India’s plans in the recent past with the Karnataka batsman last featuring in the Zimbabwe tour of 2015.
Also, after a dismal 2019 IPL season, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) decided to let go of their champion batsman who helped them win in the 2012 and 2014 seasons.
Rajasthan Royals, then bought Uthappa at a modest price of INR 3 crores, to bolster their star-studded batting roster.
“Right now I want to be competitive. I still have that fire burning in me, I really want to compete and do well. I honestly believe I have a World Cup left in me, so I’m pursuing that, especially the shortest format,” Uthappa told EspnCricinfo.
After a brilliant start to his international career under former coach Greg Chappell, Uthappa booked his berth in the squad which left to West Indies to feature in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
The Karnataka stalwart who went on to play for Kerala, also impressed during the subsequent ODI series against England. He helped India chase down an improbable total at Oval.
His knock against Australia in the T20 World Cup in South Africa, giving ample support to Yuvraj Singh going great guns at the other end, was the highlight of his outings in the competition.
“You can never write yourself off. You would be unfair to yourself if you write yourself off. Especially if you believe you have the ability and you know that there is an outside chance. So I still believe in that outside chance,” added the 34-year old.
Uthappa soon went out of favour from the Indian team, only making sporadic appearances in the 2014-2015 season. He helped Rohit Sharma during his mammoth 264-run knock, by farming him the strike with his run-a-ball knock.
“I still believe that things can go my way and I probably can be a part of a World Cup-winning team and play an integral role in that as well. Those dreams are still alive and I think I’ll keep playing cricket till that is alive,” Uthappa concluded.
