Karthik- the man of comebacks

For a very long time, during the tenure of MS Dhoni, the management and the selectors would not look beyond him and a lot of other players couldn’t find their place in the playing XI as one spot was preoccupied by the Dhoni only. One of such players who was at the receiving end was Dinesh Karthik. He was an immensely talented player but fate was not in his favor. He did well in the domestic circuit and was probably the best player from south zone, but his career was greatly overshadowed by MS. 

In this article by ZAP cricket, we will try to give some credit to the unsung hero of Indian Team- Dinesh Karthik who was not just an exceptional player, but also one of the most humble man in cricket fraternity.

Early life and domestic cricket 

Born on 1 June, 1985, Karthik attended Carmel School, Fahaheel AI- Watanieh Indian Private School in Kuwait and Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Chennai. His father was his first coach and because of him, junior Karthik started playing cricket at age 10. Senior Karthik, Mr. Krishna Kumar played first division cricket for Tamil Nadu himself and all his experience came handy in preparing Dinesh during his initial years. 

In 1999, Dinesh made his U14 debut for Tamil Nadu. Next year, that is , in 2000, he was promoted to under 19 level as well. After that it took him a couple of years to earn his debut cap in first class cricket, as in 2002 he made his Ranji Trophy debut against Baroda.

His domestic performances went well and he was on the radar of all the selectors. He was making most of the opportunities given and was proving his metal with both bat and gloves.

In 2004, he was selected for the Under 19 Cricket World Cup. Later he got his chance to represent India as well. But his career had a very different trajectory as he was always looked as a backup keeper and was never the first choice since the emergence of MS Dhoni. He was picked on and off by the selectors but never lasted for longer duration.

Meanwhile, he was still a big asset to his domestic side- Chennai. He captained the senior Tamil Nadu team a number of times and even clinched the 2020 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Title. 

International career of Dinesh Karthik 

DK made his debut in 50 over game first, he played his first international game on 5 September, 2004 V England. Then, within two months, he made his debut in red ball cricket as well, that is, on 3 November, 2004 V Australia. Then, lastly on 1 December, 2006 V South Africa, he made his T20I debut. 

He was a god gifted player who timed the ball to perfection. Best thing about his talent was his versatility, whichever slot was assigned to him, he used to score runs there. 

He started as a technically sound batsman and by the dawn of his career, he became a genuine finisher. He became the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches.

Dinesh was in the squad that won 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. With his stellar performance in 2022 IPL, he made a comeback and played the 2022 ICC World Cup as well. 

Greatest inning by Dinesh Karthik which will be remembered by young generation was the final of Nidahas Trophy against Bangladesh where he pulled off the victory by smashing a six on the last ball of the match. 

He played his Last test on 9 August, 2018 V England, Last ODI on 10 July, 2019 V New Zealand and Last T20I on 2 November, 2022 V Bangladesh.  

International stats of Dinesh Karthik 

IPL

His IPL stint started with Delhi Daredevils and ended with Royal Challengers Bangalore. In total he has played for 6 franchises and his performance with each one of them was as follows: