Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik (born 1 June 1985) is an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman who made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper. Karthik was a batsman in his junior career, but turned to wicket-keeping in order to improve his future prospects. He is the present captain of Kolkata Knight Riders replacing Gautam Gambhir. His greatest performance in T20 cricket was his quickfire knock of unbeaten 29 runs off 8 deliveries during the final of the 2018 Nidahas Trophy against Bangladesh. Rising through the junior ranks, Karthik made his first-class debut in late-2002 for Tamil Nadu as a 17-year-old, and was dropped in his first season despite his healthy run-scoring because of his problematic glovework. He fought his way back into the team and after playing for India at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, made his ODI and Test cricket debut in late 2004.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik with India in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik
Born	(1985-06-01) 1 June 1985 (age 33) Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, India
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Batting	Right hand bat
Bowling	Right arm off break
Role	Wicket-Keeper batsman
International information
National side	India (2004–present)
Test debut (cap 250)	3 November 2004 v Australia
Last Test	9 August 2018 v England
ODI debut (cap 156)	5 September 2005 v England
Last ODI	23 September 2018 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no.	21
T20I debut (cap 4)	1 December 2006 v South Africa
Last T20I	29 June 2018 v Ireland
T20I shirt no.	21 (formerly 19)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2002–present	Tamil Nadu
2008–2010 ; 2014	Delhi Daredevils (squad no. 19)
2011	Kings XI Punjab (squad no. 19)
2012–2013	Mumbai Indians (squad no. 19)
2015	Royal Challengers Bangalore (squad no. 19)
2016–2017	Gujarat Lions (squad no. 19)
2018–present	Kolkata Knight Riders (squad no. 19)
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC T20I Matches 24 79 157 20 Runs scored 1,004 1,496 9,214 269 Batting average 27.14 29.92 42.07 29.88 100s/50s 1/7 1/9 27/41 0/0 Top score 129 106 213 48 Balls bowled – – 120 – Wickets – – 0 – Bowling average – – – – 5 wickets in innings – – 0 – 10 wickets in match – – 0 – Best bowling – – 0/9 – Catches/stumpings 51/5 53/7 377/42 9/3
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 23 September 2018

Karthik was the regular wicket-keeper in Tests, making rare appearances in ODIs. During this period, Karthik struggled and averaged less than 20 with the bat, and he was replaced as Test wicketkeeper by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had been prolific and destructive with the bat in ODIs, in late 2005 before becoming a regular wicket-keeper and an aggressive finisher with the bat down the order in the Indian team in all three formats of the game. After donning the mantle of an opener for Tamil Nadu and raising himself to the standard of a specialist batsman at domestic level, he was recalled to the national squad as a batsman in late-2006 after injuries and form slumps hit other batsmen, playing occasional matches in both forms of cricket on the tour to South Africa, and scoring a half-century in a Test as an opener. Following India's elimination from the first round of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the selectors made multiple changes, and Karthik became a non-wicket-keeping opening batsman in the Test team and regularly played ODIs, batting in the middle order.

He made his maiden Test century against Bangladesh and then was India's leading scorer in the Test tour of England, helping India to win their first series in England in 21 years. However, Karthik suffered a form slump in late-2007 and was dropped from the Test team, and since then has only made sporadic international appearances, although he continues to score heavily in domestic cricket. These have come in occasional appearances as a specialist batsman when other players were rested or injured, or as a wicket-keeper when Dhoni was sidelined.