Veteran Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik will turn 38 on Thursday (May 31st). Karthik was born on June 1st in Chennai in 1985. He made his international debut against England in a one-day international in September 2004 and was also part of India's first T20I playing eleven in 2006 against South Africa.
He was the team's first-choice keeper in Test cricket until 2004 when MS Dhoni made his first appearance in the international arena. The right-handed batter fell out of favour as Dhoni solidified his spot and ultimately became the captain in 2007. Karthik was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup squad that beat Pakistan in the final to lift the trophy.
His diving catch to dismiss South African skipper Graeme Smith is one of the most memorable moments of the lot. In June 2018 in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, the veteran returned to Test cricket for the first time since 2010. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer was one of the keepers selected for the England Test tour in 2018. However, Karthik fell out of favour after four consecutive single-figure scores in two Tests in England. With Rishabh Pant cementing his spot in the Test team, there was no way back for Karthik in the Test side.
Dinesh Karthik makes another comeback in the Indian team:
Following IPL 2022, where he mustered 330 runs in 16 matches, striking at 183.33, Karthik earned a call-up to the T20I side and also for the T20 World Cup 2022. However, the veteran couldn't make the expected contribution as India crashed out of the tournament semi-final.
In four matches, he managed only 14 runs, striking at 63.64 and was dropped after that from the squad. He was on the commentary panel for the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The keeper-batter will also be on the commentary team for the 2023 Ashes series between England and Australia. So far, Karthik has played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is.
