Murali Kartik – does the name strike our brains anywhere around ? A serious young man with some beads around his neck eh ? Yes, it does…from being to one of the best domestic cricketers around to being India’s most economic spinner, the journey for Murali Kartik has just begun as far as his role in international cricket is concerned. We at Cricketfundas.com are proud to present you guys with a profile of the left arm spinner, who easily is the best in the art in the country today.
Born on D-Day (11th September 1976) at Chennai, outside Chepauk (as he told me) was enough to decide what his future was. Moving to the North after his schooling in Chennai, Kartik got selected into the Central Zone Under-16 team in 1992 and went on to represent them till 1994. The success of his stint with the zonal Under-16 team easily earned a place for him in the Under-19 team (1994 to 1996). He got his first Indian cap for the Indian juniors in 1995-96 against South Africa. Soon after this transformation phase, he landed up in the Ranji squad for Railways. He had a dream first class debut, bagging a hat-trick which hinted at the amount of talent that he possessed and still possesses. Since then….he’s not only set goals, but achieved them with success including the one – PLAYING FOR INDIA !
His successes at the domestic level saw him earn the prestigious India cap at the age of 23 against South Africa at Mumbai. He showed early signs of class with the ball with figures of 2/28 and 1/50 but more than anything else he won many a cricket fan’s heart by his temperament and him being unperturbed by the occasion. Unfortunately for him, he was taken out of consideration until he sparked up yet another performance of superior excellence for the Rest of India against Mumbai, by pocketing a haul of 9-70 in the latter’s second innings in the Irani Trophy. He still remains the proud holder of the best bowling performance in an innings of the Irani Trophy since its inception. He later played the one-off Test at Dhaka and went on to play 2 more tests against Zimbabwe at home, before being ruled out due to a back injury which forced him out of cricket for almost the whole of 2000/01 season.
His first venture for the Men-in-Blue for the limited overs came in Hyderabad, in a must win game against Zimbabwe, where he again showed good temperament although he ended up wicket less. Then again, he was relegated to the A team, but received a call mid-way from Sri Lanka to join the main team in Windies for the ODI series. His continuing form with the ball earned himself a place in the team, which has launched him in recent times to be the third spinner (nowadays preferred to Kumble). He bowled some of the most economic spells in the West Indies series, when the scores were lurking around 300-325. Tours with the A team to West Indies and England in 2003, where he was the most successful spinner, got himself a place in the 36 probables. He was the most economic bowler in the Challengers for India Seniors when the rest got smacked at the rate of noughts.
Then came the biggest and most important break for Kartik. A place in the TVS Cup squad was a sure shot guarantee simply by his performance. If India had to gain anything out of the TVS Cup , it was Kartik, who was simply the NEMESIS of the teams from Down Under. He made the likes of Ponting, Martyn et al fall into his trap and beat them most often than any bowler ever did in the tourney. But, again some baffling selection errors saw this man from Delhi, relegated to the A team which is a shocker by itself !
Kartik is a bowler, who has this smooth classical walk-and-deliver action with a brilliant pivot which helps him create the tantalizing loop and FLIGHT to deceive the batsman. He also relies on the offering of the pitch in terms of turn and bounce and creates a dilemma in the mind of the batsman. His repertoire also includes a very special ARM BALL – which is only a la Kartik. He is also a handy lower-order bat. One would remember his 43 against Bangaldesh at Dhaka, where he showed all the qualities of a night watchman and again temperamental excellence.
A cricketer at large, a simple man in the narrower sense. I’ve always been fascinated by the talent in this man. He has been one of my favourite left arm spinners (as i am one too) ! According to me, he is one of the most serious cricketing figure on the field, always involved with himself about the next ball – webs around a thought process, which i feel is a must for every cricketer.
We at CricketFundas.com would like to wish Murali Kartik, all the very best for the rest of his career (both domestic and international) and hope that he will finish as the world’s best left armer in the near future.