CHENNAI: As the England and Wales Cricket Board launched the inaugural edition of The Hundred in 2021, Dinesh Karthik was a commentator with Sky Sports alongside former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.
During his stint, the channel displayed ‘India 2004-2019’ even though he hadn’t officially retired. As the Indian men’s team toured England for five Tests, Karthik continued as an expert for them, interviewing Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
While current players getting involved in broadcasting gigs is often the norm in England, New Zealand and Australia, in India, when a player goes into commentary, it’s often seen as a post-career profession. Karthik, however, seems to be breaking it as he made a full U-turn of sorts since the last English summer, making a comeback into the Indian T20I side.
Twelve months after his Sky Sports debut, Karthik was on the other side of the microphone, answering questions to Nasser and Atherton last week during the T20I series against England that India won 2-1. And this time, the broadcasters had named him “India wicket-keeper’ and rightly so.
For Karthik, all this has been “surreal”.
“(It’s been) enjoyable as well. The players and team management made me feel at home from the word go. It has been exciting no doubt,” said the 37-year-old at an event facilitated by ‘Evocus’ black Alkaline water in Chennai on Friday.
While he has been vocal on the mic in the second half of 2021, Karthik quietly put in the yards off-the-field in the lead up to the IPL. The end result: 330 runs as a finisher at 183.33 strike rate for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was the only Indian to score over 250 runs at a SR higher than 165. Eventually, he returned to the Indian team and smashed a fifty in the fourth T20I against South Africa, helping the hosts take the series to the decider.
While it’s not the first time he has made a comeback, Karthik feels nothing much has changed. “Of course making a comeback when you are 35 plus was never going to be easy. Thankful to everyone who helped me during that phase. I quietly believed in myself and out in the yards before the IPL... fact that I did so well for RCB has helped me achieve a few important things. It is a journey and I am really enjoying it. With every new day, there is a different challenge. Some challenges you overcome, and some challenges are harder so it has been interesting so far,” he said.
Although Karthik, at the moment, seems to be the designated finisher in the shortest format, there have been times where both Bangalore and India team managements have held him back for the last few overs. As a result of which, the 37-year-old is often left with fewer balls to bat. However, Karthik isn’t affected by any of it. He believes as long as the role in the side is clear, he is up for the challenge.
“Be it state, IPL or national side, as long as your role is defined clearly it becomes relatively easier to prepare and focus. One has to adapt and thrive and I am really enjoying the challenge,” he said.
Karthik will be turning up for iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans from Saturday for a few games in the TNPL before leaving for the T20I series in Caribbean that begins on July 29.