Explosive young talent |
Chennai
Cricket |
 The only good news for Tamil Nadu cricket in the recently announced Indian team for the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka is the inclusion of L Balaji, the lone representative of the state. Consolation, however, came from the news of Dinesh Karthik’s selection to the India ‘A’ team to tour Zimbabwe.
The young wicket-keeper’s ascent to the top has been swift but hardly surprising. A chirpy, chatty little fellow, Karthik bats the same way he talks - full of self-assurance, willing to take risks but more than adequately secure in a sound base of defence. In his daring approach to batting, especially when the chips are down, he resembles some of the great wicket-keeper-batsmen who have adorned the game at the highest level. In appearance and demeanour, he reminds me most of Alan Knott, the veteran of several stirring battles for England in the 1970s, though his work behind the stumps needs a great deal of
polishing.
Karthik has a number of good performances with the bat at the under-19 level, including a 70 in 39 balls in the World Cup last year, but it was his exploits in the Ranji Trophy knockout, when he slammed two successive hundreds in the semi-final and final, that pitchforked him to prominence and impressed the national selectors. Both these hundreds were brilliantly struck despite coming when the side was in deep trouble.
Indian coach John Wright recently said the emergence of Dinesh Karthik had brought about healthy competition for the wicket-keeping slot, a good sign for Indian cricket.
India under-19 coach Robin Singh believes Karthik is the fittest Tamil Nadu lad at that level. Playing for MRF-Globe Trotters means he gets to practise on a variety of Test class surfaces, including some extremely pacy wickets. He also gets to bat against some genuine quickies. Add his natural self-belief and exuberance, and it all adds up to an explosive mix.
In the local league, Dinesh has made a great start this season, with a quickfire hundred in the opening match last week. His supporters, including his father Krishna Kumar, a former cricketer and Dinesh’s cricket mentor, will hope that he will acquit himself well enough in the new season, that he will pose a serous challenge to boy wonder Parthiv Patel.
V Ramnarayan
wordcraft@vsnl.com
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