The Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has made a long way since his debut as an international cricketer way back in 2004. But, it’s sad that he will be wearing only his 24th Test cap on Thursday in the historic Test match against Afghanistan.
Karthik’s debut can be termed as memorable only if he wanted his career to be filled with disappointments. However, it was just an ODI game, but his Test debut was again filled with a lot of difficulties as the ball was turning and bouncing at crazy angles, despite that, there were glimpses of quality in his skillset. But once a certain MS Dhoni had announced his arrival in the limited-overs cricket, Karthik’s card was marked.
While deputizing for the injured Dhoni against South Africa in 2007, Dinesh did a phenomenal job as stand-in opener alongside Wasim Jaffer and as a result of that he was asked to front up for the task in the most challenging conditions of England and he became the match-winner with 60 at Lord’s, 77 at Trent Bridge and 91 at The Oval. But a poor home series against Pakistan forced him to stay away.
Talking about those days ahead of the game against Afghanistan, Karthik said, “I guess I wasn’t good enough, I didn’t perform well enough before. I wasn’t consistent enough. I was in a highly competitive environment. There was a person called MS Dhoni breathing down my neck, who was causing a stir in world cricket at that time. He’s gone on to probably become one of the greatest captains India’s ever produced.”
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He further added, “It’s not like I lost out my place to some normal cricketer, he’s been a special cricketer and I respect him for that. The fact is that at that stage, I couldn’t produce enough performances to hold on to my place in the side. I need to be honest with myself that I wasn’t as good then. But I have another opportunity now and I guess I’ll try and do my best.”
While most of his competitors gave up and moved on, Karthik kept on working hard. in the current Test side, only Cheteshwar Pujara has played more first-class matches than Karthik (157), and he credited those seasons with Tamil Nadu for not losing faith. He said, “I’ve always enjoyed playing the sport, so motivation has never been a problem. I’ve enjoyed playing the Ranji Trophy. It’s a totally different challenge. There are not many out there who come and watch you play; you play because you enjoy the sport, which I’ve always done subconsciously.”
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He further elaborated, “I’ve enjoyed being part of Team Tamil Nadu. Credit to them as well for having put up with me through the tough years, with my batting, with my keeping, and as a player. Every alternate year, we put up performances. One year we reached the final, a couple of years later got there again. As a senior player, they expect you to perform well. Along the way, if I could help out young guys, great.”
Since MS Dhoni’s retirement, Wriddhiman Saha has been India’s keeper of choice, but as much as those behind the scenes rate Saha’s keeping, there is a feeling that he hasn’t been that much effective with the bat, especially in overseas conditions.
However, Karthik’s memories of tour to England 11 years ago when he was good enough no only behind the stumps but also front of it. Although he has been craving for that spot for over a decade now, there are certain chances that he can land in those big gloves this English summer.
