Dinesh Karthik: Can he solve the No 4 riddle?

Bengaluru, October 26: Some years back, Dinesh Karthik looked as sprightly as ever during a Ranji Trophy match. While watching him, it was tough to imagine Karthik had fallen way behind that unstoppable machine - Mahendra Singh Dhoni - in the pecking order.

His contemporary Parthiv Patel remained around and kept himself lively while Sanju Samson was making some waves for Rajasthan Royals, prompting several to see the successor of Dhoni in him as a stumper.

But there was no sign of hopelessness. He never resembled a person who played just two Tests post 2008 and sporadically appeared in one-dayers after 2010. The only desperate measure in those times could have been him dabbling with numerology and changing the spelling of Karthik. At one stage it read as: Kaarthick.

He went about his rituals with intensity and did not miss an opportunity to pull a prank on a teammate.

At the end of Tamil Nadu's net session, it was hard not to ask him about his willingness to grind out in the domestic circuit when he stopped over for a quick chat.

His initial reply was succinct."What else can I do?" Before I could picture him as a disheartened man beneath that happy exterior, Karthik detailed the need to keep scoring runs in domestic cricket, an answer accompanied by wide smile and enthusiasm.

Cut to 2016. The right-hander made over 1000 runs in List A games at an average close to 75, including four hundreds with one coming in the Vijay Hazare final.

In the IPL, the most noticeable catching ground of talents these days, Karthik scored 512 runs at a strike rate of 136.

Suddenly, he has one feet inside the door. The fifty against New Zealand on Wednesday in a winning cause will help him to put his name with more confidence in the lot to find a stable figure for No 4 spot.

He has some worthy contenders in Manish Pandey, KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav. At 32, Karthik is the eldest member among the quartet but he fitter than ever before he remains as effective as a batsman. He can don several roles - enforcer, second fiddle - with ease.

In fact, his contemporaries have always thought Karthik as one of the most gifted strokemakers around.

"The best time to get Karthik out is in the initial phase of his innings. He is in a bit of hurry to get going.

"Once he settles down and gain in confidence there's no real weakness. He has quite a few shots and he's quick on his feet too," one of the players had mentioned.

That he is a wicketkeeper can give Karthik an edge over his rivals for the place.

If the team management wants to manage the workload of Dhoni then Karthik is currently their best option. Rishabh Pant is certainly high on talent but needs bit more ripening before pushing him to the ocean.

This is certainly not to say that Karthik has cemented his place in the hot seat.

But the relentless fight in domestic cricket has given him a window, however small that may be, and if he keeps the run flow going Karthik can be the No 1 contender for the No 4 slot.