Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik was born on 1 June 1985 and is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who nationally plays for the Indian Cricket Team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
103 Facts About Dinesh Karthik
2.
Dinesh Karthik is the current captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket.
3.
Dinesh Karthik made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004.
4.
Dinesh Karthik was a member of the team that won both the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
5.
Dinesh Karthik made his maiden Test century against Bangladesh and was India's leading scorer in their Test tour of England, helping India win their first series in England in 21 years.
6.
Dinesh Karthik has made only sporadic international appearances since then, although he continues to score well domestically.
7.
Dinesh Karthik began playing cricket at the age of 10, after a two-year period of living in Kuwait.
8.
Dinesh Karthik was educated in India, and at Carmel School and Fahaheel Al-Watanieh Indian Private School in Kuwait and finally from eighth standard on studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Egmore in Chennai.
9.
Dinesh Karthik was coached in cricket by his father, who was a first-division cricketer from Chennai.
10.
Dinesh Karthik honed his reflexes at a young age by having his father throw hard leather balls at him at high speed.
11.
Dinesh Karthik was initially a batsman and learned wicket-keeping on the Tamil Nadu youth teams, and Robin Singh considered him very fit.
12.
Dinesh Karthik made his first-class debut for the senior side the following season.
13.
Dinesh Karthik participated in the dance-reality show Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina with Nigaar Khan in 2008.
14.
Dinesh Karthik got engaged to Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal in November 2013, and they married in traditional Christian and Hindu ceremonies in August 2015.
15.
Dinesh Karthik made his first-class debut in late 2002 against Baroda as a wicket-keeper.
16.
Dinesh Karthik batted in five matches of the round-robin, scoring 179 runs at an average of 35.80 with a top score of 88 not out against Uttar Pradesh in his second match.
17.
Dinesh Karthik's form tapered off after this match, and he failed to pass 20 again during the season.
18.
Dinesh Karthik took 11 catches but, due to repeated wicket-keeping errors, he was dropped from the season's final matches.
19.
Dinesh Karthik was overlooked in the selection for the zonal Duleep Trophy, and played in the under-19s for South Zone.
20.
Dinesh Karthik was more productive in his second zonal season, scoring 180 runs at 60.00 with three half-centuries.
21.
Dinesh Karthik was selected for the national under-19 team, and played in three youth One Day Internationals against Nepal.
22.
Dinesh Karthik attended a wicket-keeping camp in the off-season under, guided by former Indian keeper and chairman of selectors Kiran More, which he credited with improving his technique.
23.
Dinesh Karthik scored 438 runs, with two centuries, and took 20 catches.
24.
Dinesh Karthik followed this with an unbeaten 109 in the final against Mumbai.
25.
Dinesh Karthik was selected for the India squad in the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh, and scored two half-centuries on an India A tour to Zimbabwe.
26.
Dinesh Karthik then scored 123 and 113 in consecutive matches against Baroda and Railways, before ending his Ranji Trophy campaign with 72 against Uttar Pradesh in the return match.
27.
Dinesh Karthik continued his strong run against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, scoring 153.
28.
Dinesh Karthik ended with 1,026 runs at 64.12 for the season, including five centuries and two fifties.
29.
Dinesh Karthik scored 152 against Orissa and 117 against Punjab, adding a further two scores of at least 70.
30.
Dinesh Karthik scored only 16 runs in his four other innings, ending the season with 443 runs and an average of 55.37.
31.
Dinesh Karthik finished with 183 runs at 61.00 and was named captain in Wisden 'team of the tournament'.
32.
Dinesh Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches.
33.
Dinesh Karthik played in the 2008 Indian Premier League as wicket-keeper for the Delhi Daredevils, scoring 145 runs at 24.16 with a strike rate of 135.51.
34.
Dinesh Karthik's highest score was an unbeaten 56 to steer Delhi to a five-wicket win in a group match against the Mumbai Indians.
35.
Dinesh Karthik scored 288 runs at 36.00, passing 40 on three occasions and making 17 dismissals.
36.
Dinesh Karthik was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2011 for $900,000, making him the second-most-expensive player on their squad.
37.
Dinesh Karthik played with Mumbai Indians for two seasons, where he won his only IPL title in the 2013 season until date.
38.
Dinesh Karthik was again bought back by Delhi in 2014, by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015 and in 2016 by the Gujarat Lions, who retained him for the 2017 season.
39.
Dinesh Karthik was named wicket-keeper of the IPL XI of the tournament in 2017 by CricBuzz.
40.
Dinesh Karthik was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2018 IPL season, and led the team to the playoffs.
41.
In 2020, halfway through the season Dinesh Karthik relinquished the captaincy to Eoin Morgan.
42.
Dinesh Karthik managed to score only 223 runs and enforce 7 dismissals in IPL 2021.
43.
Dinesh Karthik managed to score 330 runs in 16 matches with an average of 55.00 and a strike rate of 183.33.
44.
Dinesh Karthik made his Test cricket debut in the fourth Test between Australia and India in Mumbai in October 2004, replacing Parthiv Patel.
45.
Dinesh Karthik scored 14 runs in two innings and took two catches, but was praised for his wicket-keeping on a pitch with variable bounce and spin on which 40 wickets fell in two days.
46.
Dinesh Karthik was retained for India's next engagement: a two-Test home series against South Africa.
47.
Dinesh Karthik had a chance to score highly in India's two-Test tour of Bangladesh in December 2004.
48.
Dinesh Karthik then had his best Test batting performance to date, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata against Pakistan.
49.
India batted first; Dinesh Karthik made a start and reached 28, before being run out.
50.
Dinesh Karthik scored in the second innings, joining Rahul Dravid in a 166-run partnership to set up a target of 422.
51.
In ten tests since his debut, Dinesh Karthik scored 245 runs for an average of 18.84 with one half-century and one other score above 25.
52.
Dinesh Karthik was selected as a back-up wicket-keeper and middle-order batsmen on the Test team in November 2006.
53.
Dinesh Karthik opened the innings with Wasim Jaffer, allowing Sehwag to bat in the middle order.
54.
Dinesh Karthik used his domestic experience to score 63 in the first innings, combining in a century opening stand and helping India to 414.
55.
Dinesh Karthik scored 56 and 22 in the drawn first Test in Chittagong before scoring his maiden Test century in the second Test in Dhaka, making 129 runs and featuring in a century opening stand as India took an innings victory.
56.
Dinesh Karthik was a regular opener in the mid-2007 Test series in England.
57.
Dinesh Karthik started the ODI series with an unbeaten 44, but had four consecutive innings where he failed to score more than four runs and was dropped for the final two matches.
58.
Dinesh Karthik had a lean Test series against Pakistan at home in late 2008.
59.
Dinesh Karthik managed only 39 in two innings of the first two Tests, exceeding single figures only once.
60.
Dinesh Karthik was retained for the Test tour of Australia as an opener, and Gambhir was out with an injury.
61.
Dinesh Karthik did not play in the first two Tests because Dravid was elevated to his opening position so Tendulkar and Yuvraj could bat in the middle order.
62.
When Dravid and Yuvraj struggled in their new positions, Dravid was moved back to his number-three position and Yuvraj was dropped for the series' third Test; Dinesh Karthik was not recalled.
63.
Dinesh Karthik was recalled to the Test team as a wicket-keeper for the July 2008 tour of Sri Lanka when Dhoni took a sabbatical due to fatigue.
64.
Dinesh Karthik played in the first two Tests, but struggled with the bat in the middle order.
65.
Dinesh Karthik scored 36 runs at 9.00, falling all four times to the spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
66.
Dinesh Karthik scored an unbeaten 117 against Kerala in the 2009 one-day tournament and was selected for the tour of New Zealand as reserve wicket-keeper.
67.
Dinesh Karthik then played in the first Test at Chittagong after Dhoni was injured again.
68.
Dinesh Karthik made a duck in the first innings and 27 in the second, watching the next match after Dhoni returned.
69.
Dinesh Karthik scored 183 and 150 in the Duleep Trophy final against West Zone, the third player to score centuries in both innings of a Duleep Trophy final.
70.
Dinesh Karthik made his debut match in 2004 against England at Lord's in the last match of ODI series, scoring just one run.
71.
Dinesh Karthik played in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy against Kenya, taking three catches before being replaced on the ODI team by MS Dhoni.
72.
Dinesh Karthik did not play another ODI until April 2006.
73.
Dinesh Karthik was not required to bat, as India cruised to a seven-wicket victory.
74.
Dinesh Karthik was then reinstated as reserve wicket-keeper for the tour of the West Indies after scoring 134 runs for India A at 33.50, including a man-of-the-match 75 runs against the UAE.
75.
Dinesh Karthik had more opportunities at the international level later that year during the ODI tour of South Africa after Yuvraj Singh was injured.
76.
Dinesh Karthik has kept wickets for the Indian team in ICC events and crucial trophies, both ODIs as well as T20Is.
77.
Dinesh Karthik scored an unbeaten 31 to steer India to a six-wicket win in the Twenty20 International against South Africa, with one ball to spare, in 2007.
78.
Dinesh Karthik then featured in the four-match ODI series against West Indies.
79.
Dinesh Karthik was then selected for the series against Sri Lanka and the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
80.
Dinesh Karthik played in four matches, scoring 15 runs at 51.00 and keeping wicket in two matches.
81.
Dinesh Karthik had another chance in India's four-match tour of West Indies when he replaced Virender Sehwag, who was out with a shoulder problem.
82.
Dinesh Karthik scored 4 and 16 in India's two round-robin matches and was dropped for the final, in which India defeated the hosts.
83.
Dinesh Karthik was retained for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, but after his performances in Sri Lanka he was omitted for the first two matches.
84.
In December 2009, Dinesh Karthik was recalled to the ODI team during the Sri Lankan tour of India after Dhoni was banned after the second match for two matches because of low over rates.
85.
Dinesh Karthik kept wickets in the next two matches, scoring 32 and 19 and helping guide India to the target in successful run chases.
86.
Dinesh Karthik retained his place as a middle-order batsman in the fifth and final match when Dhoni returned after Tendulkar was rested and Yuvraj was injured, but the match was ended early due to an unsafe pitch.
87.
Dinesh Karthik retained his place for the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh against the hosts and Sri Lanka after Tendulkar was rested for the tournament.
88.
Dinesh Karthik was an opener with Gambhir in the last two of the round-robin matches, after Sehwag was rested.
89.
Dinesh Karthik was recalled to the Indian ODI team for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy after a good domestic season and IPL performance.
90.
Dinesh Karthik scored back-to-back centuries in the two warm-up games, securing his place on the team for the tournament.
91.
On 10 December 2017 Dinesh Karthik faced 18 deliveries without scoring a run against Sri Lanka, an ODI record.
92.
The substitute, Patel, was included on the side before he injured his right index finger; Dinesh Karthik began keeping the wickets on day four of the Test.
93.
Dinesh Karthik was again named to the squad for the March 2018 Nidahas Trophy Tri-Nation T20 series, after team regular Dhoni was rested.
94.
Dinesh Karthik played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 29 off eight balls in the final of the tournament against Bangladesh.
95.
Dinesh Karthik was recalled to India's T20 set-up after three years for the South African tour of India in May 2022.
96.
Dinesh Karthik made his first half-century in the series 16 years after his debut in T20 cricket for India in the 3rd T20 match against South Africa.
97.
In July 2022, Dinesh Karthik was announced as the captain of the Indian cricket team for the 20 over warm-up matches against Derbyshire and Northamptonshire.
98.
Dinesh Karthik was named in India's 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup squad.
99.
Dinesh Karthik is one of the only two cricketers from the 2022 squad to have featured in India's victorious 2007 campaign under MS Dhoni, skipper Rohit Sharma being the other.
100.
Dinesh Karthik was part of the commentary team during India-England T20I and ODI series held in March 2021.
101.
Dinesh Karthik made his debut behind the mic for the official broadcasters of England and Wales Cricket Board.
102.
On 12 March 2021, Sky Sports announced that Dinesh Karthik would be part of their commentary team for the inaugural season of the Hundred.
103.
Dinesh Karthik was part of the commentary team during England-Sri Lanka T20I and ODI series held in July 2021.