Waiting in the wings

👉Dinesh Karthik has earned his right to play alongside Dhoni as a specialist batsman.

When Dinesh Karthik pulled off an incredible heist with his 29 off 8 balls in the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh, his restrained jubilation after bludgeoning the final ball for a six was in the quintessential style of M.S. Dhoni, a man for whom he has been a stopgap replacement through his career.

Karthik wasn’t underplaying his feat. His subdued celebration was an expression of supreme confidence in his ability as a batsman. Karthik has repeatedly stressed that he is a batsman-wicketkeeper, and not the other way around, as he has probably been perceived by several selection committees in his 14-year career. Such were the standards set by Dhoni that having an additional wicketkeeper in the XI would only be a surplus to the team’s needs.

Hence, Karthik has essentially been below Dhoni in the pecking order. He would have to make himself indispensable as a batsman alone to seal a spot. In 2006, he spoke of how he volunteered to open the batting in domestic cricket in order to be picked for India as a Test opener. Karthik relished the challenge of facing the new ball, and some of his best knocks for India came in the tours of South Africa and England soon after.

A lack of consistency and the failure to grasp other opportunities contributed to his stop-start career. He would only be recalled when India needed an emergency replacement. He has had to prove himself with every given chance, with little leeway for failure. Wriddhiman Saha has remained India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper because he is regarded as India’s best wicketkeeper. The selectors’ preference for Parthiv Patel as the back-up keeper indicates that Karthik’s chances of a Test comeback look slim.

However, it’s his skill as a finisher down the order which makes him an asset in T20s. Karthik was the Man of the Match in India’s first ever T20, in 2006. Since then, India has played 99 matches, but Karthik has figured in only 19 of those. For a middle-order batsman, he strikes at nearly 150 runs per 100 balls, and averages close to 34 per innings. He is clearly an underutilised talent in the shortest format.

An introspective cricketer with an obsessive approach to his training, Karthik has over the years sought out experts to help improve his skills and fitness, from South Africa’s technical analyst Prasanna Agoram, to Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar. Karthik realises that Dhoni’s return could alter the team dynamics yet again. Dhoni hasn’t shown any indication of retiring any time soon, even as critics continue to highlight his fading skills as a finisher. Virat Kohli continues to back Dhoni to the hilt, as the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai said recently.

Karthik has earned his right to play alongside Dhoni as a specialist batsman. At 32, with no signs of his restless energy drying up, he shouldn’t live in Dhoni’s shadow any more.

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