12 Interesting facts about Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman, has seen multiple phases in his career. At one stage, he was the first choice gloveman in the Indian team and a few years later made a comeback as a pure batsman. Unfortunately, he has always found it difficult to maintain his position in the national squad. Karthik started a batsman in his junior career but turned to wicket-keeping in order to improve his future prospects. In an international career spanning 12 years and 103 matches, he has scored one century and 14 half-centuries.

1. Born on:

Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik was born in a Telugu Naidu (Kapu) Family on 1st June 1985 in Chennai.

2. Dad’s support:

Karthik’s father Krishna Kumar played first-division cricket in Chennai in his youth but was forced towards academics by his parents. Krishna ensured that his son would not face the same fate.

3. Learns the basics from his father:

Kartik was introduced to leather ball cricket by his cricket-loving father at a pretty young age. He honed his reflexes at by having his father throw hard leather balls at him at high speeds.

4. First-class debut:

Karthik made his first-class debut in 2002 against Baroda, playing as a wicket-keeper and batting at No. 8, where he scored 37. In the second match, he top-scored with an unbeaten 88 runs against Uttar Pradesh, which helped Tamil Nadu avoid defeat, they managed a draw with one wicket in hand.

5. A bright international debut:

Karthik made his One-Day International (ODI) debut for India against England in 2004. Though he dropped Michael Vaughan off the bowling of Anil Kumble, he was soon the talk of the town when he affected a leg-side stumping displaying tremendous athleticism.

6. First Indian to win a MOM in T20Is:

India played and won their first ever T20 international against South Africa on 1st December 2006. South Africa chose to bat first and posted 126/9. Karthik walked in at no. 5 and played a 28-ball 31 runs knock and took the team home. He was awarded the Man of the Match and thus he became the first Indian to win a MoM award in a T20I.

7. In-and-out:

Karthik had a mixed career being in-and-out of the Indian squad; he could never cement his spot in the team. After a good debut in the NatWest Challenge, he was called up in the Test squad against Australia. But he could manage only one fifty in 10 matches, and thus was axed.

8. Best part of International career:

A fine 2012-13 domestic season got him back into the ODI side for the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, which India won beating England in the final and India has been unbeaten in the whole tournament. Karthik scored 82 runs in the 5 matches with the best of 51* his performance was not convincing and he couldn’t retain his place in the team.

9. IPL price tag:

Despite not being a regular member of the Indian squad, he was bought at INR 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 auction and for INR 10.5 crore in 2015 by Royal Challengers Bangalore. He failed to justify his selection in both the teams and they decided to release him after one season. He was acquired by Gujarat Lions for INR 2.3 crore in 2016. Karthik has been the second-highest paid player at the auction behind Yuvraj Singh for IPL auction 2014 and 2015.

10. Major teams:

Karthik has been a part of these teams – India, Delhi Daredevils, Gujarat Lions, India A, India Blue, India Under-19s, Indian Board President’s XI, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Zone and Tamil Nadu.

11. Personal life:

Karthik married his childhood sweetheart, Nikita Vijay in 2007, but the couple divorced a few years later. On 18 August 2015, he married Indian squash ace Dipika Pallikal.

12. Reality show:

Karthik took part in the dance reality show Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina with Nigaar Khan, who is an Indian TV actress.