Dinesh Karthik
Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik (born 1 June 1985) is an Indian commentator and former professional cricketer who played for the India national cricket team. He was also the captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004. He was the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches.[1] Karthik was a member of the team that won both the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Personal information
1 June 1985
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
DK
Right-handed
Right-arm off break
- India (2004–2022)
3 November 2004 v Australia
9 August 2018 v England
5 September 2004 v England
10 July 2019 v New Zealand
21 (previously 19)
1 December 2006 v South Africa
2 November 2022 v Bangladesh
19 (previously 21, 1, 99)
He made his maiden Test century against Bangladesh and was India's leading scorer in their Test tour of England,[2] helping India win their first series in England in 21 years. After a drop in form in September 2007, Karthik was dropped from the Test team. He has made only sporadic international appearances since then, although he continues to play domestically. Between 2018 and 2020, he was the captain of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. Karthik has also worked occasionally as a commentator/pundit for British channel Sky Sports between 2020 and 2021, most notably during India's tour of England.
Early life
Dinesh Karthik was born into a Telugu family from Chennai, India.[3] He began playing cricket at the age of 10, after a two-year period of living in Kuwait (where his father worked). Karthik was educated in India, and at Carmel School and Fahaheel Al-Watanieh Indian Private School in Kuwait and finally from eighth standard on studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Egmore in Chennai.[4] He was coached in cricket by his father, who was a first-division cricketer from Chennai. Disappointed that his career was hindered when he was forced by his family to put his education first, Karthik's father did not want his son to suffer the same fate and trained him hard from an early age.[5] Karthik honed his reflexes at a young age by having his father throw hard leather balls at him at high speed. He was initially a batsman and learned wicket-keeping on the Tamil Nadu youth teams, and Robin Singh considered him very fit.[5]
Karthik steadily ascended the youth ranks. He made his Tamil Nadu under-14 debut in early 1999, and was promoted to the under-19 side at the beginning of the 2000/2001 season.[6] He made his first-class debut for the senior side the following season.
Personal life
In 2007, Karthik married Nikita Vanjara. However, the couple divorced in 2012 due to irreconcilable differences.[7][8] She later married his fellow teammate, Murali Vijay.[9]
He got engaged to Indian squash player, Dipika Pallikal, in November 2013,[10][11] and they married in traditional Christian and Hindu ceremonies in August 2015.[12] The couple became parents to twin boys, Kabir and Zian on 18 October 2021.[13]
Domestic career
Karthik made his debut in late 2002 against Baroda as a wicket-keeper.[14] He batted in five matches of the round-robin, scoring 179 runs at an average of 35.80 with a top score of 88 not out against Uttar Pradesh in his second match.[6][5][15] Karthik's form tapered off after this match, and he failed to pass 20 again during the season.[6] He took 11 catches[16] but due to repeated wicket-keeping errors, he was dropped from the season's final matches.[17]
Karthik was overlooked in the selection for the zonal Duleep Trophy, and played in the under-19s for South Zone. He was more productive in his second zonal season, scoring 180 runs at 60.00 with three half-centuries.[6] He was selected for the national under-19 team, and played in three youth One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Nepal.[6]
Karthik attended a wicket-keeping camp in the off-season under, guided by former Indian keeper and chairman of selectors Kiran More, which he credited with improving his technique. After playing in the Chennai League, he returned to the under-22 team at the start of the season before his selection for India Emerging Players to play their youthful counterparts from Sri Lanka and Pakistan in late September.[6]
Karthik was recalled to the Ranji Trophy team at the beginning of the 2003–04 season.[5] He scored 438 runs (an average of 43.80), with two centuries, and took 20 catches.[18] In the semi-final against Railways, he scored his maiden first-class century with 122 runs.[19] He followed this with an unbeaten 109 in the final against Mumbai.[20]
Karthik was selected for the India squad in the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh, and scored two half-centuries on an India A tour to Zimbabwe.[6][21] He had a strong domestic first-class season in 2008–09. After starting the Ranji Trophy campaign with two single-figure scores, he scored 213 runs in partnership with Subramaniam Badrinath as Tamil Nadu defeated Uttar Pradesh by an innings. Karthik then scored 123 and 113 in consecutive matches against Baroda and Railways, before ending his Ranji Trophy campaign with 72 against Uttar Pradesh in the return match. He continued his strong run against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, scoring 153 (103 in one match). Karthik ended with 1,026 runs at 64.12 for the season, including five centuries and two fifties.
In 2009–2010, he was the Tamil Nadu captain in six Ranji Trophy matches. Karthik scored 152 against Orissa and 117 against Punjab, adding a further two scores of at least 70. He scored only 16 runs in his four other innings, ending the season with 443 runs and an average of 55.37.[6]
Karthik was named captain of the India A team for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy in October 2018.[22] In October 2019, he was named in India C squad for the next edition.[23] Karthik led the Tamil Nadu team to their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win, at the tournament's 2020–21 edition, after he captained the team to a win at the inaugural edition in 2006–07.[24] He finished with 183 runs at 61.00 and was named captain in Wisden's 'team of the tournament'.[25]
Dinesh Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches.[1]
Indian Premier League
Karthik played in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League as wicket-keeper for the Delhi Daredevils, scoring 145 runs with the bat at 24.16 and a strike rate[26] of 135.51.[27] His highest score was an unbeaten 56 to steer Daredevils to a five-wicket win in a group match against the Mumbai Indians.[6] In the 2009 edition hosted by South Africa, Karthik played in each of Daredevils' 15 matches. He scored 288 runs at 36.00, passing 40 on three occasions and making 17 dismissals. Although Daredevils topped the tournament's pool stage, Karthik made only nine in the semi-final and his team were defeated by six wickets by the Deccan Chargers.[6]
Karthik was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2011 for US$900,000, making him the second-most-expensive player on their squad. For the 2012 season, Karthik joined Mumbai Indians for a reported US$2.35 million.[28] He played with Mumbai Indians for two seasons (2012, 2013), winning the title in 2013. Karthik was instrumental in his team's campaign; he scored 510 runs at 28.33. Karthik refused to be retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2014 personnel changes, a move that later recalled as being a "regret".[29] He was bought by Delhi Daredevils. In 2015, he moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore and in 2016, to Gujarat Lions, who retained him for the 2017 season. Karthik was named wicket-keeper of the IPL XI of the tournament for that season by CricBuzz.[30] He was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2018 season (replacing Gautam Gambhir), and led the team to the playoffs.[31] For his performance in the 2018 IPL season, Karthik was named to the ESPNcricinfo and CricBuzz IPL XI.[32][33]
In 2020, halfway through the season Karthik relinquished the captaincy to Eoin Morgan.[34] The team could, however, win only three off their seven matches in the second half and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second season in a row.[35] Karthik managed to score only 223 runs and enforce seven dismissals in 2021 edition.[36] He ended his Kolkata Knight Riders stint as the second most successful captain of the franchise only behind Gautam Gambhir.
In the 2022 auctions, Karthik was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹5.50 crore.[37] He managed to score 330 runs in 16 matches with an average of 55.00 and a strike rate of 183.33.[38] He had a poor 2023 campaign with the bat, scoring only 140 runs with an average of just above 11. Ahead of the following edition, the media speculated that it was going to be his final season in the IPL.[39] Karthik began the season strongly and scored two consecutive half-centuries, against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. However, his team ended losing both matches.[40] The latter innings was a 35-ball 83, in a chase of 288, which included five fours and seven sixes.[41]
Commentary career
Dinesh Karthik was part of the commentary team during India-England T20I and ODI series held in March 2021.[92][93] He made his debut behind the mic for the official broadcasters of England and Wales Cricket Board. On 12 March 2021, Sky Sports announced that Karthik would be part of their commentary team for the inaugural season of the Hundred.[94][95] Dinesh Karthik and former captain Sunil Gavaskar were also the only two Indians to be included in the ICC's on-ground commentary panel for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton. Dinesh Karthik was also part of the commentary team during England-Sri Lanka T20I and ODI series held in July 2021.