Only a day after the defeat of Royal Challengers Bangalore to Lucknow Super Jute by 28 runs, Dinesh Kartik had pre-committed to three commercial engagements, which included shoots and a bat signing session. As professional as the come-out, the 38-year-old batsman has completed all his obligations without reflecting the turmoil in his mind.
Karthik lost his wicket for four against the Lucknow Supergiants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB needed 79 runs in 34 deliveries when Karthik joined Mahipal in the middle, but he could not lay a bat on the ball, which eventually led to a catch behind the stumps off Naveen ul Haq.
After the defeat within a few minutes of returning back to the hotel, he started exploring avenues for practice the very next day. He even found an avenue an hour and a half drive away, and after fulfilling his obligations, he practiced for an hour and a quarter.
2 years ago, inspired by the possibility of an international comeback, Karthik had a brilliant 2022 on his return to Royal Challengers Bangalore, as he smashed 330 runs as a finisher at a strike rate of 183.33. A call-up to the T20 World Cup squad might have been the culmination of a journey for many, but Karthik was not done yet. His return to Bengaluru might be slightly short on motivation last season when he only made 140 runs at a strike rate of 134.62, but he is as eager as mustard to leave an everlasting impression in what most likely will be his 17th and final campaign in the Indian Premier League.
His 226 runs in 7 games at an amazing strike rate of 205.45 have not come by accident. Even when he was commentating on the home test series between England and India cricket team, Karthik was getting himself physically fit, so he decided to opt out of commentator duties for the final test match in Dharamshala. He worked on his batting in different parts of the country and spent time with Abhishek Nair, who is an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders setup, addressing methods pertaining to the mind.
Karthik was not even on the fringes of another international comeback three weeks ago, but now when the selectors meet in a fortnight to pick the 15 players for the T20 World Cup, it might appear as a retrograde tab. After all, there are plenty of wicket-keeping options, with only Rishabh Pant looming as a middle-order/finisher bat, but if form, fitness, and pedigree are the yards taken, then Karthik will perhaps be as much in the making as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
On a crazy Monday night at the Chinnaswamy, where sixes were smashed for fun and records were breaking, Karthik showed the brightest. Although captain of RCB Faf du Plessis did his things, the chants of DK were renting the air of Bengaluru.
