Dinesh Karthik is on his way to England for the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand starting in Southampton from the 18th of June – not as a part of the squad but the commentary panel for Sky.
The wicket-keeper batsman, who has represented India in 26 Tests and 126 limited over matches, spoke exclusively to Cricketnext (News 18) on the dramatic evolution of wicketkeeping since the arrival of greats like MS Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist and also on his career which coincided with the rise of MS Dhoni.
Dinesh Karthik: Dimension Of Wicketkeeping Has Changed Drastically In The Last Couple Of Decades With The Arrival Of Adam Gilchrist And MS Dhoni
Dinesh Karthik stated that the concept of wicketkeeping had changed completely since the arrival of MS Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist. Till the late 1990s, wicket-keepers were first chosen on the basis of their skills behind the stumps and their contribution with the bat was secondary. Everything changed after the arrival of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist in 1999 and India’s MS Dhoni in the early 2000s.
“The dimension of wicketkeeping has changed a lot. In today’s world, there is hardly any wicketkeeper-batsman. Most of them are batsmen-wicketkeepers. Captains want the wicketkeepers to contribute a lot with the bat. In the earlier days, there were a lot of wicketkeeper-batsmen. That has changed drastically in the last couple of decades or so with the arrival of Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni, people who have contributed a lot with the bat,” quoted Dinesh Karthik.
Dinesh Karthik then spoke about his career and how it coincided with MS Dhoni. It was one of the major reasons that he found it difficult to break through into the Indian XI across formats on a consistent basis. Dinesh Karthik made his international debut in 2004 – the same year as MS Dhoni but the latter, courtesy of his exploits with the bat, took over the position of India’s first-choice wicket-keeper across formats.
Dinesh Karthik Enjoyed Thoughroughly Being Part Of Indian Team
Dinesh Karthik, however, wasn’t too disappointed and was grateful for the opportunities he got to play for the country. Dinesh Karthik played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 32 T20Is. His last Test came in 2018, while his last limited-overs appearance came in the 2019 World Cup.
“Everybody plays the sport trying to do their best and do whatever they can. I was no different. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn’t. As I said, when I look back at my journey, I am very proud of whatever I have done over a period of time.”
With MS Dhoni as the specialist wicket-keeper in the XI, Dinesh Karthik had to improve his batting skills and there was extra pressure on him playing as a specialist batsman. However, Dinesh Karthik said that international cricket came with its challenges and was never easy.
“When you play international cricket, it is bound to be tough. If you are expecting anything else, you are in the wrong place. The key is, knowing that it is tough, to find ways to enjoy it and that is the beauty of playing at the international level. You are always thrown into questions and have to find answers. That’s what every player tries to do. The opening was a part of the journey and the short while that it lasted, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the 2007 T20I World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Dinesh Karthik is determined to play for India again after being dropped from the squad following the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2019. He wants to play the role of a finisher, like MS Dhoni and is confident that his 17-year international experience and his fitness will help him win T20 matches for the country.