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“I want to do what MS Dhoni has been doing for India for many years,” Dinesh Karthik (DK) commented a couple of years ago. Now the Tamil Nadu batsman is on the cusp of taking over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper's role in the national team.
But can Dinesh Karthik be the new MS Dhoni that Team India needs so desperately?
If experts are to be believed, the veteran wicketkeeper batter is an automatic choice in the Indian cricket team because the Rohit Sharma-led outfit currently doesn't have a designated “finisher” in the squad.
For years, India have struggled to find a replacement for MS Dhoni, trying out several cricketers in that position but none flourished and the Men in Blue continued to flounder on the international stage due to the lack of depth in their batting.
Team India particularly struggled in the death overs as there were no big hitters around.
Karthik, however, found a different gear for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).
His performances in RCB's first twelve games in the tournament were such that even the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, and Harbhajan Singh backed him to be picked in India's T20 World Cup squad later this year.
“Dinesh Karthik has been outstanding for RCB. He is very good at leg side shots than his off sides, excellent at taking singles but I think, over all he understands his game very well. Whenever he is left with last chances, he makes sure that he finishes the game. For me, if anyone has played the best role of a finisher in this entire IPL then it is none other than Dinesh Kartik. If I were a selector I would have given him a ticket to Australia for World Cup T20 and let him play for India as wicket keeper and batsman because he deserves that,” Harbhajan told IPL's official broadcaster Star Sports last month.
Karthik was the main man behind RCB's run to the playoffs after he secured seven wins for them in their initial twelve matches, having scored 274 runs for Faf du Plessis' side at an extraordinary strike rate of 200 and a highly impressive average of 68.50.
His clean striking became the talk of the competition and just like Mumbai Indians icon Kieron Pollard, Dinesh Karthik became a genuine threat for all the specialists of the death overs.
However, it wasn't just his quick-fire knocks that got everyone talking but it was the overall impact of his batting on RCB's success that also lifted his stakes in the eyes of Indian cricket fans in general and the selectors and pundits in particular.
Remarkably, Dinesh Karthik wasn't dismissed in any of RCB's first seven triumphs, smashing 200 runs at a stunning strike rate of more than 202 in those matches.
Though Dinesh Karthik or DK as he is affectionately called failed to lead RCB to their maiden IPL trophy, he earned a reputation of being the team's finisher in the elite T20 event.
The 37-year-old eventually finished the cash-rich league with 330 runs in 16 games with the highest score of 66 not out and a superb strike rate of 183.33.
Due to his whirlwind knocks in the IPL, DK was named the ‘Super Striker of the Season', becoming the first Indian in the 15-year history of the IPL to claim the prestigious award. Before him, the prestigious honour had been dominated by West Indian cricketers with the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and Shimron Hetmyer winning it in the past.
His performances in the IPL seem to have made Karthik confident about his abilities and he believes that he could be the player who could turn the scales in India's favour in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“The bigger vision is that I want to play for the country. I know there is a World Cup around the corner. I want to be part of that World Cup desperately and help India cross that line. It's been a long time since India won a multi-nation tournament. I want to be that person who is helping India do that. For that, you need to be aware of so many things, try to be that player who people think ‘hey this guy is doing something special,” Karthik told ex-India captain Virat Kohli during an interview posted on RCB's social media channels.
The T20 World Cup is still some months away, and Dinesh Karthik will have to maintain his consistent run with the bat, particularly in the upcoming bilaterals against South Africa at home and versus England in the United Kingdom, if he hopes to find his name in the squad for the mega event Down Under.
Still one should enjoy Dinesh Karthik's late renaissance as he's one of the most selfless cricketers India has ever produced and do it all to remain in contention for a World Cup spot.
KARTHIK'S INTERNATIONAL RECORD:
Test: M 26 | I 42 | R 1025 | HS 129 | Av. 25.00 | 1x100s | 7x50s | Ct 57 | St 6
ODI: M 94 | I 79 | R 1752 | HS 79 | Av. 30.20 | 9x50s | Ct 64 | St 7
T20Is: M 32 | I 26 | R 399 | HS 48 | Av. 33.25 | SR 143.52 | Ct 14 | St 5
