Dubai: Dinesh Karthik whose roller-coaster ride on and off the field now seems to heading to the top loop after recent successes and the never-say-die wicketkeeper is getting the recognition that he richly deserves as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League XI.
DK as he is fondly known in recent days was the main man behind the stumps in all formats of the game when a hurricane named Mahendra Singh Dhoni (MSD), was gathering dust on the horizon. Even before he could blink, MSD grew into a tornado and demolished all that came in his path, all rivals and teams.
In the process, DK also was thrown to the wayside. As if rubbing salt to the wound Karthik also went through a troubled personal life, which culminated in a divorce.
- Dinesh Karthik |Captain of Kolkata Knight Riders
DK had to even suffer the ignominy of not playing at his home franchise, the Chennai Super Kings since the place was taken by MSD.
Undeterred by the misfortunes, Dinesh, like a true gritty batsman weathering an hostile attack on a wet wicket, picked up the pieces and started running, read as started getting the runs.
When almost reaching the end of the road, how did you keep your motivation alive? That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind and when Gulf News asked that Dinesh did not mince his words.
“I am always someone who has enjoyed playing the sport, so motivation was never been a question,” he said as a matter of fact.
Slowly the scene changed as the roller-coaster carriage progressed and spring once again arrived in his life after a harsh winter. As much as regaining his place in the Indian team, by scoring runs in tons in the Indian domestic circuit, his personal life also saw a new lease with the arrival of Deepika Pallikal, the Indian squash team star and Arjuna Award winner, whom he married in 2015.
“Having Deepika as my wife has really helped. She understands sport, so it makes things a lot easier. Very lucky to have her with me.”
The quick-fire match-winning knock against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in Sri Lanka, which is still resonating in the Indian cricketing circles, is a testimony to his unwavering quench to succeed at the highest level. Walking in when India needed 34 off 12 balls, Karthik hit 22 off the penultimate over and hit a six over extra cover off the last ball when India required five runs to win the trophy.
His cameo, which was very Dhoni-esque in every sense, could not have come at a better time as the Indian limited overs team’s middle order is still unsettled and he could grab one of the slots between four to six.
After travelling from one city to another — starting from Delhi then to Punjab to Mumbai to Bengaluru to Gujarat — during the 10-year IPL so far, DK has arrived at the shores of Bay of Bengal, not in Chennai but a bit north east in Kolkata as their leading Knight. He has to shoulder a heavy as the captain, especially as he has to fill in the large boots of a highly successful campaigner Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir helped the men in purple win two titles in 2012 and 2014 after joining them in 2011 from Delhi where he spent the first three seasons.
KKR finished in the top four for the first time in the very season before lifting the coveted trophy in the next year.
Skipper Karthik, speaking to the media in Kolkata on Sunday, said he was aware of the expectations the team management has from him as he is filling in the big shoes of Gautam Gambhir, adding that he is at a point in his career where he can cope with it.
“What Gautam Gambhir has achieved for KKR is phenomenal. He’s left a benchmark that every season they have qualified as bare minimum.
“And being a leader of the team, the management will expect the same from me. I’m aware of the expectations. Whether there would be pressure, ‘yes’. As a captain, you’re expected to at least go to the playoffs, that’s the least anybody can expect. I think I’m at a stage where I can handle it and get the best out of the team,” Karthik said during KKR’s jersey launch at the team hotel.
Having learnt the lesson early in his career where he admitted that a self-inflicted pressure to perform, DK will be taking it the heavy workload in his stride to live up to his reputation in IPL XI.
- With inputs from agencies
Fact file: Dinesh Karthik
■ Born: 1 June 1985 (age 32) in Chennai
■ Role: Right hand bat and Wicketkeeper
■ Made his Ranji Trophy debut during 2003—04 season as a 18 year old.
Was selected in the India squad for the U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004.
■ Made his international debut for India against England in the ODI at
Lord’s in September 2004 as a 19 year old
■ Made his Test debut at Mumbai against Australia in November 2004 as a 19 year old.
■ Made his T20I debut against South Africa at Johannesburg in Dec 2006, which incidentally was India’s maiden T20I match!
■ His unbeaten 31 (28 balls) took India to victory and also earned him the MoM award.
■ In all he has appeared in 23 Tests and has scored exactly 1000 runs @ 27.77 runs per inns.
■ His only Test 100 — 129 came as an opener against Bangladesh in May 2007.
■ He has seven other scores of 50s, including two scores in the 90s.
■ He has 56 Test dismissals, including five stumpings
■ His final Test match came eight years ago in January 2010.
■ In 79 ODIs he has 1,496 runs @ 29.92, S/r 72.79, with nine fifties.
■ His highest score is 79 against South Africa at Gwalior in Feb 2010, which he made when Tendulkar recorded the first 200 in ODI cricket.
■ He has 60 ODI dismissals, including seven stumpings.
■ He has appeared in 19 T20Is so far while aggregating 269 runs @ 33.62
■ His S/r of 149.44 is now the best by an Indian batsman in T20I cricket.
■ He has appeared in 152 IPL games for five different sides (KKR will be his sixth!).
■ He has so far made 2903 runs, ave 24.81, S/r 125.94, with a highest of 86 (48 balls) for Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils at Mumbai in April 2013.
■ In all he has 14 fifties.
■ As a keeper he has the most number of dismissals (106) among all keepers in IPL.
— Compiled by Mohandas Menon
