'I could've pushed for another IPL cycle, but didn't want to end up with any guilt'

Dinesh Karthik's cricket career, spanning three different decades, came to an end with the 2024 IPL, which he signed off with an excellent tally of 326 runs in 15 matches at a strike-rate of 187.36. The wicketkeeper-batter has been there and done that from the very beginning of India's T20I journey all the way back in December 2006. In this conversation with Cricbuzz, he talks about the evolution of the format and his transformation within that, the fierce resilience that defined his long career, why he opted not to play another cycle of the IPL and lots more...

Former cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Has the new reality sunk in yet and do you remember what was going through your mind when your head hit the pillow after that last game against Rajasthan Royals?

I don't think it's sunk in yet. There's lots happening in the house, there's a couple of weddings and all so I've been pretty busy with that. Other than that, it's okay.

Even though you planned for it a lot, still there are a few feelings that come. It's a tad bit emotional, a tad bit relief. I was just thinking I have to catch a flight, probably this is [the last time]. In the lead up to that, because I was kind of preparing myself like 'oh maybe this is the last practice session', 'oh this is the last time I am going to practice wicket-keeping', 'oh this is the last time I am playing at this ground.' So these sort of moments just kept playing in my mind a lot. In a way I was mentally prepared for whenever it had to happen. But I was so much more prepared for 18th May [last league game vs CSK]. Once that part of the tournament was crossed, I was extremely elated and very, very happy and grateful. The 22nd [Eliminator vs RR] came around pretty fast, but overall it was a mixed feeling of relief, emotion and the fact that it has all come to an end.

During this memorable IPL 2024 season, there was a point where Rohit Sharma was picked up by the stump mic sledging you saying 'abhi World Cup khelna hai' [There's a World Cup still to play]. You had kept the door open for a call-up too. Given your form, the Impact Substitute rule and players like MS Dhoni playing into their 40s did you at all consider carrying on?

I think I am physically very much prepared to play for another three years. Especially with the Impact Player rule, it becomes that much easier. So in terms of playing the sport, easily I think I could've pushed for another cycle. I don't have too many issues in my life. Touch wood, I have never missed a game because of an injury through my three decades. I've been blessed that way. I was never worried about my body or my fitness. It was all about the mental side of things, whether I'll be able to push as much in the lead-up to the tournament, whether if I don't play as many matches, will I be okay with it. I am a big believer of whatever I look to do, I try to give it 100% commitment and do whatever I can to be the best in that. And I thought from hereon for me to play X amount of matches is going to be hard.

Mentally pushing myself for so long in terms of doing everything in the lead-up, even if I falter a little bit I wouldn't be... even though from the outside people wouldn't know, but internally I would find it very hard and I would be living with guilt. I don't want that. At the end of the day, it is a professional sport and people are paying you and they expect a certain performance and that comes with responsibilities. I want to live up to those responsibilities internally to all the benchmarks that I have set. When I thought about that, I said, 'No I don't think I'll be doing that.' Add to the fact that I have a little bit of a young family, so spending time with them [is important].

Those are all small factors, and I think the big one was whether I can do it for the next three years, because even if I go into this cycle and I play one year, I think it is a tad bit unfair on the team because they've picked me at a certain price point. If I don't play the cycle or I walk into the tournament knowing that I won't finish the cycle, then it is a little bit unfair on the team because they could have used that resource on a player they know would be there for all three seasons. Taking all that into account, I thought this is the time [to retire]. And most importantly, the fact that no matter what I do, I cannot play for India again was very evident. So it was the last nail in the coffin.

You were the guy that never went away. Dhoni hits 148 in Vizag, but DK is back as a Test opener. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir become Test openers, but DK is back for Champions Trophy 2009. It looks like DK is gone again after 2010-11, you have this incredible IPL 2013 and come back for CT 2013. You think DK is done after that, but you're back with a bang at the Nidahas Trophy. In 2023, you think it is finally done after a bad IPL, but you return and turn heads again, at 38. Where did this resilience come from?

I am internally very, very motivated. Intrinsically extremely motivated and I've lived by the mantra that if you are the best, no one can stop you. So for me, people picking me or not picking me didn't make a difference. I just wanted to be the best in the world, so I just kept pushing myself. I had that as a goal for myself and I used to literally wake up everyday wanting to achieve that goal. That's how I am. When I played for Tamil Nadu, I wanted to be the best for Tamil Nadu. When I played for India, I wanted to be the best for India. I kept pushing myself. Whenever I got an opportunity, I tried and did whatever I did. That's why whenever I got dropped, people would say, 'Oh you got lesser chances, oh other people got a longer rope.'

I just believed if I get one chance, I should make the most of it. I never cribbed. I was always thinking like I got a chance but I missed it. I got a tournament here, but I probably could have done better in this match. And that kept me going. That was how I was built. At times maybe I was hard on myself, but I'd rather be that way and be happy, than think the other way and get frustrated.

All my friends keep making fun of me saying I've made the most comebacks in the history of Indian cricket. Maybe you guys can find out how many comebacks I've made and tell me... But there are a few that I remember. The one against South Africa [in 2010] where we lost the first Test in Nagpur and the second Test was in Kolkata which we won. I remember I was in Kanpur and I was getting ready for a Ranji Trophy match and I got a call the day before. From Kanpur I had to drive down to Lucknow, Lucknow to Delhi and Delhi to Kolkata. I came and just watched the match for five days. I was just a back-up to MS. So I had such mini-comebacks too [laughs]. And then after the Tests, I played the ODI series, where Sachin scored 200.

Given your in-and-out career in the other forms, did you see T20 as a format you could offer the kind of value that didn't always exist in Indian cricket and therefore endeavoured to be ahead of the curve? Because from the outside for a long time, it seemed like India looked at T20 as an abridged version of ODI itself...

In 2018, Abhishek [Nayar] said we can do something really special if you bat in the middle. It is the toughest spot to play and you'll get much lesser balls but you can create a much better impact. In time, people will start understanding it is specialist position, let's be ahead of the curve and let's start practicing with winning games in mind.

I innately had this ability over a period of time where be it domestic cricket or a lot more... I used to be there at the end. It was a habit, so he said we'll make that a habit but we'll use the aggressive version in T20 cricket. Even though I had done bits and pieces here and there, it became a specialist position for me between 5,6,7 - depending on the situation. Entry point as they call it [today], going in at the right time to get the job done.

My constant question was: how do I play for India? If you take Abdul Samad for example. He's actually had a very decent season this year, not a great season but a decent season. You might look at the playoffs and say he's gotten out in the big match but the fact is that he's got about 180-200 runs at a strike rate of 165-170 and average is probably 15 or 16 [182 runs at a strike rate of 168.52 and an average of 18.20]. But the fact is that, if you look at it from a middle-order point of view, he's had a very decent season. It's like a No. 3 or 4 getting 350-400 runs. It's nothing earth shattering but it is a very good season. He's been effective, he's played some impact innings and that's all you can expect. Still the understanding of that is not that high with the public.

I think with the franchises, they do understand it's a specialist position and they look at it differently. So my counter to Abhishek was if I score 150-200 runs over a season because I only play 80 to 100 balls across 14 matches, how do I stake a claim for the Indian team? So he said at this point of time it might sound difficult, but if you do it consistently and well enough and win a few games where your impact is good, people will start looking at how you're playing with a very different lens.

That's when our chance will come. And we have to be able to transfer that when we go for Team India as well. He said in Team India there are a lot of top-order batters so there's always going to be a fight, so you much rather at this stage take up a position which is a lot more challenging. One where you cannot be consistent, but when you do deliver it'll be an impact innings. So I said okay, I took up the challenge and that's how we trained and played our practice - 6-ball slots, in one over how to score 14. In 4 overs if you have to chase 45 or 50, how do we plan, what sort of positions to get into, which bowlers to target. We started detailed practice like that.

So, what excited you most about the T20 format? It's a whole different sport with a grammar that you as a cricketer from the early 2000s wouldn't have been conditioned for...

It is the fastest evolving format. The most thoroughly researched format in terms of individuals. Every team analyses every batter, every team analyses most bowlers, at least at an individual level you need to prepare for it. Mentally it could be one of the hardest formats because when you walk in to play high-risk shots, it's not something that's ingrained in you, especially if you're a little old-school. The value you put on your wicket is ingrained in such a way that you don't throw your wicket away, take your time, after a break make sure you set yourself up, get your eye in - those kinds of things are there. So when you've played your 10-12 years of cricket with that sort of language being spoken to you consistently, to completely change it up and to say you need to start hitting boundaries of high risk very early in the innings is a massive change in the game. You need to adapt to it quickly.

You see the current Gen-Z players play with a lot more gay abandon and they're a lot more free in terms of taking risks because their risk-to-reward outlook is very different to what it was for players who were playing before 2010. The players who played before that had a very instinctive game, tried to find a boundary and once they got set, they were willing to take risks.

But now the game has changed to such an extent that within the first five balls you need to take a high-risk option to hit a boundary and if you do that consistently then the odd bad ball will come to you. But if you're only willing to play normal cricket and expect a boundary, bowlers are too clever because they've planned for it. Once you walk in they'll know, 'Okay let's tuck him up into the body, let's not give him anything outside the off-stump. Let's bowl heavy lengths at him coming into the leg-stump.' They're very particular and they all do their planning. So you need to be very aware that this is what they're going to do and this is how I'll find my boundary. Once you start understanding that and practice accordingly, then you'll get your boundaries. Once you get going, you can obviously push at the end. I am convinced that the way this format has evolved and developed with analytics coming in, with the kind of prep that each team does, it has been outstanding to watch actually.

Did you always enjoy the tactical side of the format, even amid the pressures of being captain, which you were for Tamil Nadu and KKR?

Oh 100 percent. That was probably one of my biggest highlights. I enjoyed that. It is very, very exciting and if you can get a plan for a certain batter and it works. It's a great feeling.

Can you share an instance that comes to mind immediately...

Let's say this year, Sunil Narine was going hammer and tongs. But we had done some meticulous planning as to where we should bowl right from ball one, where we should target. And it came out really well. I think he got 10 off 16 [15] before he got caught at long-off by a fast bowler off a slower one. So that was extraordinary planning and we'd literally planned that dismissal. It was basically tucking him up for room. But what sort of lines to bowl when you're tucking him up for room? That kind of detail, it's not 'just bowl on the stumps' stuff. It's a little more than that.

Sticking to this season, let's talk about that reverse-scoop you played against Tushar Deshpande and Akash Madhwal. It seemed like you still wanted to be on top of a rapidly evolving format even in your last season?

Correct. So walking into the tournament, I knew a lot of people would bowl wide yorkers. So I had practised the walking sweep to go over square leg, if they had square leg in, or to hit over mid-off. But what was happening was, the moment I looked to go, they were bowling so far out and the umpires were not giving it [wide]. And because I'm a short man, I wasn't able to reach the ball. All I was getting was an outside edge or I was getting beaten. And I wasn't even getting a wide for it. For every two-three balls that they bowled, maybe I'd get one wide. But the bowler was happy.

In the first game I realised that Tushar Deshpande was happy doing that. I knew that the other teams would pick it up. Then I went and thought about what I needed to do. I practised this shot immediately to use it as a variation whenever I knew they were predictable enough to bowl outside the off stump, to counter it. When you are going through a tournament you should be able to understand what the bowlers are doing, what the tactics team are using and accordingly adapt and figure out a solution. And I thought my solution was this shot so I worked on it immediately and luckily for me, it came out well.

So this introspection and analysis was all you? Would you have time to consult your coaching team about it in the middle of the season?

This is completely by myself. Up until the tournament I have chats with Abhishek [Nayar] and we are practising and all that. Once the tournament starts, obviously he's in KKR and I don't disturb him after that. So it is a very mutual understanding, the coaching stops about a week prior to the tournament. Once the tournament starts, now and then I'll give him a call to check how he is and all of that. But never dig into the details of the sport because that is the kind of respect we have for each other, we understand that we might play against each other and we obviously don't need to speak everyday.

This shot I planned... and basically observed my videos, watched what they were doing and realised I have to develop a shot that is countering this ball. You need to hold the bat a certain way, then walk across and execute it. But yes, if you are willing to change and these small changes don't affect your batting, why not? There are two types of batters actually. Ones who believe that let's not overcomplicate things, let's keep it simple, watch the ball and react to it. Then there are those who plan in terms of 'this is what they are going to do, so what is the solution for this?' You find solutions and accordingly you learn shots or try shots.

Let's revisit some specifics. What are those three T20 games - and you can even pick ones that didn't make it to television - that you most enjoyed being part of?

I think there'll be a lot of recency bias. I think India vs Pakistan in Melbourne was one of the greatest matches that I've been part of. RCB vs CSK game this year was extraordinary. There've been so many... Let's say MI vs CSK, the 2013 final when we won. If I don't put Nidahas Trophy, people will laugh at me. But there are too many T20 games... If you said Tests maybe I'll have just one or two. I can even talk about the first-ever T20I, the 2007 World Cup final. This year, the way we played the backend, those six matches...every game was unbelievable. The way Will Jacks and Virat played... Oh, let's keep it to those first three or four [laughs].

A match-up or a contest that you'll always remember and relish?

I didn't actually enjoy it, but I used to hate batting against Lasith Malinga. I just couldn't bat him. That was bad. I faced him in the MI nets for only two years. But the other years, before and after, I had to fall at his feet at times.

You'll have had your share of banter received and dished out on the field. What is one that has stuck?

Every time I played against RCB and Virat Kohli caught my catch, 'Ben Stokes' came out of his mouth for sure. But that was a send-off. Hardik Pandya sledged me saying 'Abhi legspinner aaya, iska thank you hi hai' [Now a legspinner will come and it is Thank You time] Then I had to play a couple of shots and then he was like 'Theek hai, thoda improve hogaya lag raha hai'. [Looks like he's improved a bit]. That was good. He's a good friend. He was also like 'Commentator banke bhi thoda kaam kar raha hai'. [Even after becoming a commentator, he's working on his game] That was fun. Rohit Sharma this year taunting me... unnecessarily giving me hopes. [laughs]

I've had mostly cheeky conversations... I think I told Maxwell once: 'They call him the Big Show but I think it's going to be a short show boys'.

What's the one compliment you received that will stay with you?

There's been a lot of outpouring of love... One for my cricket - Virat Kohli saying that he'd love me being part of the [RCB] team which was a great compliment. Dhoni said: 'I've really enjoyed your commentary, DK. Very, very good.' That's about as big a compliment as you can get from Dhoni I guess.

What's next for DK? You've spoken extensively about your 1:1 work with Abhishek Nayar and pioneering a tennis-style entourage of a personal coaching network. You've had a great start to your broadcasting career but is there a desire to be the Abhishek Nayar to the next Dinesh Karthik?

I would love to. That's my aim. I think he's a phenomenal coach and I've learnt a lot from just working with him. Coaching and broadcasting is what I'm thinking I'll mix in the foreseeable future. It's not as simple as it looks. But I must admit, a few of the players who've played in RCB itself are very keen to come and work with me in Chennai. So, that is a positive. It's very exciting. Though to become a solid coach, there are so many more areas that you need to work on and get better. It's a learning curve. My coaching career is at its infancy. So let's see, for the moment all I can say, it's a pretty exciting start to even know that people are even interested to come and train with you and very much like the tennis format where they want to do the one-on-one.

But what Abhishek has done for me is extraordinary. He's literally given away time and energy of a different level. And it all kind of coincided. He was coming to the end of his cricketing career, and I was just coming from a place where I was vulnerable and I needed his help. So he had the time for me. If I had started today, it would have been very hard to find the amount of time he did at that point. He has a terrific academy, where there are plenty of boys practising, he has a coaching setup, he's teaching coaches. Apart from that he's an assistant coach of KKR and a successful one at that . You can see how the young boys have warmed up to him. He wasn't as busy at that stage - he was where I am today, just starting out coaching. For me obviously, because I'm broadcasting I might be travelling. Now how to find time is the big question. But these days you can make it happen if you want it to and I'm a big believer in that. So I will definitely find a way.