I still remember quite if not vividly, atleast vaguely. It was a Ranji Trophy game between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu all those years ago. Tamil Nadu was struggling having lost more than 5 wickets for not that many runs. In walks a young wicket-keeper. Short and not that well built. Looking at him one would not have thought that he is capable of playing an innings that he was about to unleash. The confidence that he displayed at the crease on that day was a lesson to any budding cricketer. He did not play a shot in anger but the entire innings was beautifully paced. It was nothing but a sublime innings. Surely, a talent that was lost to Indian cricket. This is about the indomitable former Indian keeper Dinesh Karthik.
The other night when I saw Karthik decimate the Kolkatta Knight Riders with some of the cleanest hitting that I have seen, I cannot help but cast my mind back to that innings he played against Mumbai and wonder what could have been? How can someone who is immensely talented waste that talent and achieve practically nothing? Could the Indian team have gained an excellent and stroke-filled middle order batsman if only he had paid more attention to his game? One can only wonder at what the Indian team have lost in hindsight.
The immense talent Karthik had
Anyone who had watched Karthik on that day against Mumbai would have seen a superstar in the making. The quality of the shots, the cover drive, the flick of the wrists were of the highest class. They say that class is permanent and form is temporary. In Karthik’s case, class is permanent but form, that is what has dragged him down all the time. It is hard to imagine that a batsman with such a wide range of shots has not managed to play more than 50 tests. He never had any trouble against the quicker delivery or the spinners.
I for one certainly thought that in the post-Gilchrist world, when every team were looking for keeper who can not only bat but bat really well, like a specialist batsman, India have found one in Karthik. He seemed to be our answer to Gilchrist though not of the same swashbuckling variety. Little did I know at that time that he will fall by the wayside and will remain a fringe player.
He was given a lot of opportunities
Dinesh Karthik cannot complain about the lack of opportunities. He made his international debut much before Dhoni. He had a huge part to play in the Indian win against Pakistan. It was probably his 3rd or 4th test. Incredible innings against the arch-enemy right when India needed that. Then, failures after failures followed. Yet, he was persisted. This despite the fact that Dhoni by then had made his debut in the limited overs format and was creating waves with his brilliant batting. There was a clamour to bring Dhoni into Test cricket too. Yet, Karthik continued despite poor performances. Karthik was replaced by Dhoni when it was no longer possible to keep Dhoni out of the team.
Nonetheless, Dravid saw the talent in Karthik and decided to send him at the top of the order. He had some decent outings in England but was not consistent enough to be persisted with at the top. He was brought into the middle order for ODI and even there he found it difficult to score runs. Finally, after quite some time, he was brought into the team and this time in the T20 squad.
The one innings that resurrected his career
The cameo against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final will be etched in the minds of everyone who had watched that game. From then on, he got a new lease of life and was selected in the 2019 ODI World Cup but following a string of poor performances for an experienced cricketer, he was axed from the squad. Then test series in England where if only he had supported Kohli in the first test, India could have won that test but he perished in the first over on the last day with 83 runs required.
That was the last Karthik ever played for the Indian team. Multiple chances over a longer period of time and in various formats just so that Karthik one day will finally realise his true potential but he always remained an enigma. The point here is that Karthik was given far too many chances just because of the talent that he still possesses and hence he must not have any grievance.
Karthik still harbours international ambition
Now, Karthik says that the fire is still burning inside him to play one more World Cup. He probably means the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. It is well and good for any cricketer to hope to play for the Indian team but to hope so when you are 36 with multiple options in the middle order and for keeping wickets, I can only think of a fool’s hope. He is unlikely to replace Pant and with Rahul capable of donning the keeping gloves and with Bharat as standby, I do not see him replacing anybody else.
Conclusion to a talent that was lost
I think that the selectors have had enough with Karthik. They are unlikely to go back to him. There are far too many young players who keep banging the door and the selectors will have to be naïve to go back to Karthik. It does not really matter which format it is. He had been given enough chances to blossom into a good cricketer but every time, he blew it. Despite the strong finisher role that he might play for RCB in the IPL, the selectors must resist the urge to provide him with one more run. Indian cricket must move on from the older generation.
Do you think Karthik must be given one final chance to prove his worth? Does he really deserve it? Please let me know in the comments section.
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