Dinesh Karthik Reveals The Words Of Advice He Received From Rahul Dravid And MS Dhoni

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has opened up on the motivation he received from former skippers Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni and also explained how they advised him to focus on his batting skills. Karthik’s appearances for the national side have been sporadic and he has almost run out of time with the emergence of young and talented players like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson.

While talking to the ex-cricketer turned commentator, Aakash Chopra, on his YouTube channel, Karthik revealed how he came to play for India as a pure batsman instead of vying for the ‘keeper-batsman role that was already taken up by Dhoni.

“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 an 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,” Karthik explained.

“Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation kind of cricketer” – Dinesh Karthik

During India’s tour of England back in 2007, Dinesh Karthik was asked to open for India. It was a daunting task because of the tough English conditions where the ball seams around pretty much the whole day. However, Karthik made the position his own, and score 263 runs to end up as India’s highest run-getter across the series. It cemented his place in the side until MS Dhoni burst onto the scene.

In Karthik’s words, Dhoni ‘took the complete country by storm’ and sneaked in ahead of Karthik. At that point in time, Karthik realized that the door had been shut on him. Dhoni went on to become India’s captain soon and also ended as one of the best finishers in World cricket.

“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,” he noted.

Although it seems like a distant shot, Karthik still isn’t done with playing for the national team and aims to play for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup.