OMGSACHIN: Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session at Pune

Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session at Pune | May 10, 2013

Among the top five batsmen for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League this season, Dinesh Karthik feels Ricky Ponting has had a great influence on his performance. The Australian legend gave up the Mumbai captaincy due to a lack of form, but according to Karthik, has made a significant contribution in the dressing room.

Karthik (388 runs) is Mumbai Indians' second best batsman behind Rohit Sharma (430) and this season has been a lot better than 2012. Careful planning and playing to a situation have been Karthik's route to success. In a team that has hitters like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, Karthik has been happy to play second foil.

"When you know there are some big-hitting batsmen in the middle-order who can tonk the ball a mile, your role gets easier because you just try and get them on strike. When they are not around, you have the license to hit the big ones as well," Karthik told the iplt20.com website.