For Dinesh Karthik,the fight begins now

Bengaluru, March 19: The 8-ball 29 on a muggy Colombo night was a reminder. Of the cricketing abilities of Dinesh Karthik. Of the fact that the Indian team management has - it has always been there - a solid option to look beyond MS Dhoni.

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So, has Karthik done enough to challenge Dhoni's place in the limited over versions? Will the powers that be consider his name ahead or alongside that of the Jharkhand man? Or will Karthik again have to retreat to the shadows once Dhoni returns after the break as it has been the case over the last decade or so?

The answer has complex and multiple layers.

After his rumbustious knock against Bangladesh that helped India bag the Nidahas Trophy 2018, social media was flooded with messages about the 'defining' innings of Karthik.

But much before all this, Karthik was supposed to be India's first-choice wicketkeeper. In 2004. The Tamil Nadu man then was a part of an India U19 side that contained the likes of Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu.

In fact, Karthik made his international debut much before his peers and the only real contender for him then was Parthiv Patel. The image of Karthik's first international dismissal - an acrobatic stumping of former England captain Michael Vaughan is now a part of the vault.

There was an ideal ground for Karthik to grow but somehow he got stagnated after that memorable beginning. Then came Dhoni in the 2004-05 season. And till 2015 January, Dhoni remained India's captain and wicketkeeper in all formats till his retirement from Tests.

He's still part of India's limited over teams and if the words of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri can be taken on their face value, Dhoni is very much in the scheme of things till the 2019 World Cup.

Now, will they think in favour of Karthik on the back one innings, however brilliant it might have been?

"If I have one bad tournament, I will be on my way out. Every tournament, I have to be on the top of my game, trying to do as well as I can. Opportunities are few and far between. The competition in the Indian team is so strong that every time you get an opportunity, you have to try to do your best.

"I also want to be a person, that every time I am given an opportunity, it's like, 'wow, this guy can really do well and he needs to be there'," said Karthik ahead of the Nidahas Trophy final.

Perhaps, Karthik knows his position better than anyone else. Despite scoring big in domestic cricket and being a quite achiever in the IPL, Karthik saw Wriddhiman Saha taking Dhoni's place in Tests two years ago.

Karthik has the ability to play as a pure batsman. But will he be able to hold on to his place once the jostle for the middle-order slot begins with the return of Virat Kohli and Dhoni?

The 85 runs from the Nidahas Trophy at a shade over 197 without being dismissed even once means Karthik at this point will have edge over the likes of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey.

However, Karthik will not have any more India assignments prior to the two T20Is against Ireland at the end of June, assuming that Saha or Parthiv Patel will be in India whites for the one-off Test against Afghanistan (June 14-18 in Bengaluru).

Karthik will be seen in the IPL captaining the Kolkata Knight Riders. But players like Dhoni, skipper of Chennai Super Kings, Rahul, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant too will be in the mix during the IPL and some good efforts will turn the focus right back on them.

For Karthik, fight has not ended but has just begun. Perhaps, Karthik will require the strength acquired from his days in the House of Pain designed by Abhishek Nayar in the days to come more than ever.