There is something about Dinesh Karthik - he has been with the Indian team since 2004, has played a few memorable innings but has never managed to nail down a spot. Also, there are always interesting episodes around the man and one such event took place during the 2004 Champions Trophy when India were playing Pakistan.
Karthik ran onto the field as a substitute and then when he was returning, lost his balance and fell on Sourav Ganguly. He narrated the entire episode on a chat show: "I was a substitute in that game and I had to carry drinks to the players. I was running towards the players to give them drinks and accidentally, I slipped and fell on Dada. He got frustrated and yelled, "Where do you get these players from, who is he?"
Yuvraj recalls episode
Now, months after the episode was aired, former Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who too was present on the field agreed that the entire episode did take place. Taking to Twitter, the left-hander recalled: "dada exact words! Kaun hai re ye pagal ! kahan se pakad ke Latien hai in the middle of India vs Pak tense game! @DineshKarthik your hilarious @ImRo45."
As far as the game is concerned, it was a nerve-wracking affair with Pakistan edging out India by 3 wickets on the back of a superb innings by Mohammad Yusuf and a late-order blitz by Shahid Afridi. Irfan Pathan was the star with the ball for India as his opening spell rocked Pakistan, but then Afridi's muscle ensured Pakistan edged over the line.
Dinesh Karthik's future with the Indian team remains unsure as he was axed after India's campaign ended at the 2019 World Cup. The selectors have identified Rishabh Pant as the primary wicket-keeper batsman across all the three formats. Also, as per MSK Prasad, they have looked at Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and KS Bharath as the three other wicket-keepers who are being monitored extremely closely.
However, Karthik will have a chance to stay relevant when he turns up for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Cup. Also, he will be a part of Kolkata Knight Riders and if he manages strong performances, the selectors could well look towards him when they announce a squad for the T20 World Cup next year.
