 The end of Indian opening blues?
28th May 2007 22:57 IST
Manish Kumar
Karthik was selected for his first Indian squad in August 2004 for the ODI team, after the selectors decided to cease using Dravid as a makeshift wicket-keeper and also due to the poor form of alternative wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel. He played in only one match against the England at Lord's, and then another match in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy against Kenya. But India persisted with Dravid's wicket-keeping for the majority of the English tour. He was subsequently replaced in the ODI team by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and did not play another ODI until April 2006.
Karthik made his Test debut in the 4th Test between India and Australia in Mumbai, when Patel was dropped following a poor run of form. He only managed 14 in two innings and two catches, but was praised for his wicket-keeping on a pitch with variable bounce and spin in which 40 wickets fell in two days.
Karthik's best batting performance occurred at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in early 2005 against Pakistan. He scored 93 in the second innings, combining with Dravid in a 166 run partnership to set up a 422 run target. India won the match by 196 runs.
However, his batting was not generally productive, averaging 18.8 in to Tests and with his next best a 46 against South Africa, again in Kolkata. After failing to perform with the bat twice against Zimbabwe, he was ousted by Dhoni from the Test wicket-keeping position in December 2005 following Dhoni's prolific run-scoring in the one day format of the game. He fell further when Patel was favoured as the reserve wicket-keeper on the 2006 tour to Pakistan.
In April 2006, Karthik's career was revived when he was recalled to the ODI team by selectors to give Dhoni a rest and was reinstated as the reserve wicketkeeper for the tour to the West Indies.
In the 2006 tour of South Africa, after Yuvraj Singh was sidelined with a knee injury, and Karthik was given a spot purely as a batsman following the poor form of Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif.
Playing in three of the ODIs, Karthik himself struggled, with 42 runs at an average of 14, and a top score of 17. With Indian batsmen struggling, Raina and Kaif were dropped altogether from the Test squad, as Karthik was selected as a back-up wicket-keeper and middle order batsmen in the Test team for the first time in a year. He then scored an unbeaten 31 to steer India to a six-wicket win in the 20-20 International against South Africa with one ball to spare.
After Dhoni suffered from a finger injury, Karthik replaced him for the Third Test at Newlands against South Africa, playing his first Test in over a year. With regular opener Sehwag suffering from a loss of form, Karthik opened the innings with Jaffer, allowing Sehwag to bat in the middle order. He used his domestic experience to score 63 in the first innings, combining in a century opening stand, and in the second innings scored an unbeaten 38, as the team suffered a batting collapse.
Karthik also featured in the four-match ODI series against West Indies, and after not batting in the first match he top-scored with 63 as a specialist batsman when India recovered from 35/3 to post 189 on a slow wicket at Barabati Stadium, giving Karthik his first man of the match award. He was rewarded with continued selection for the subsequent series against Sri Lanka and the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Karthik was chosen for the Bangladesh tour, India's first assignment after the forgettable World Cup, as a specialist Test opener where he scored 56 and 22 in the first Test and 129 in the second Test.
But the real Test of both Jaffer and Karthik will come in the Indian tour to England that starts next month. |
