Veteran Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik was always in and out of the Indian team for more than a decade. When DK made his debut for India in the mid-2000s, he was thought about as the next wicket-keeper batsman for India, however, Dhoni’s entry into the cricket world changed things completely.
Courtesy of MS Dhoni’s leadership qualities and brilliant performances, the former Indian skipper became a permanent member of the team and went on to represent India at the international level for 15 years. On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik continued to play for team India but as a specialist batsman as Dhoni had cemented his permanent spot behind the stumps.
DK was once asked to open the innings for team India during the 2007 tour of England. During the tour, he amassed 263 runs during the Test series and turned out to be India’s highest run-getter against England.
Recently, during a conversation with Aakash Chopra on his Youtube Channel, DK was all praises for the former Indian skipper. DK lauded Dhoni as a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer but also admitted that the door was closed for him after the arrival of Dhoni. He said:
“When Dhoni came in, he took the complete country by storm and I knew that door was closed. Keeper-batsman is always a decade-long job. Syed Kirmani was there, then Kiran More. Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation kind of a cricketer. Take Ian Healy or Adam Gilchrist, if you are a good keeper, you are there for 10-12 years.”
DK made his comeback for team India during the e ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and remained a member of the team till the end of the 2019 World Cup. In 2018, he also returned back to the Test team. However, DK was dropped after the 2019 World Cup and is now working as a part-time commentator now.
During the conversation, DK also narrated how Dhoni and Rahul Dravid motivated him to focus on his batting skills. He revealed:
“I never brood over things. My nature has always been – what is next? That has always been my constant question to myself. At that point, it was to become a batter. There was a spot in the middle-order and then as opener. One thing that people, including Dhoni, would say – ‘you’re so talented as a batsman, you can open’. So that gave me a lot of confidence and then Rahul Dravid also said you have the skills to be a pure batter. So I went to domestic cricket, scored lots of runs, then got an opportunity as an opener and did well,”
Meanwhile, DK and Dhoni, both cricketers will be soon seen playing for their respective teams — KKR and CSK in the second half of the IPL 2021, which was suspended mid-way because of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the bio-bubble.
