There have always been good players who haven’t got the chance to play at the highest level. The coveted test cap has always evaded them due to many reasons. In one of my earlier posts I had written about the likes of Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar, who never got a chance to play Test cricket because of the presence of the famous spin quartet. But, today’s post is about a man who in his limited chances at the highest level has performed well but still doesn’t find a place in Team India. The man I am talking about is Murali Kartik. I first saw him play (live) against Australia at Mumbai in 2004. This test match is infamous for its square turner. What struck you most about him was his high arm action and classical loop. I later saw him bowl a very economical spell against the same opposition in a T20 international at Brabourne. This always made me wonder as to why he didn’t have a regular place in the team.
Murali Kartik made his Test Debut for India in the year 2000 against the touring South Africans. He was left in wilderness for quite sometime due to the emergence of Harbhajan Singh, who for a brief moment even kept Anil Kumble on the sidelines. Kartik played his first full series against the West Indians in 2002. He has always been in and out of the side since then. He toured Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04 mainly a replacement for the injured Harbhajan Singh. The same year came one of his finest moments when he helped India to a dramatic victory at Mumbai against Australia on a square turner. He has just played 1 test match since. He continued to play ODI’s scattered over period of three years in which he again demolished the Australians at Mumbai in an ODI with a six for. He played just one more series against the touring Pakistanis. What strikes me the most is that he has found himself dropped from the side at the wrong time. He played just one test after his man of the match performance at Mumbai in 2004. That test match was anyways a “Five-day Bat-athon” as described by Wisden Asia that year. No bowler got any returns from that track at Kanpur. The next match India went in with two spinners so that meant he would make way for Kumble and Harbhajan. This is where the Indian selectors failed. He should have been in the squad in the long run but was instead dropped. If he had been kept in the squad, he could have been groomed to be a successor to Anil Kumble. Indian selectors were chopping and changing got in the likes of Piyush Chawla etc. In trying to keep the youngsters they have failed to keep a world class bowler in the squad. It was heartening to see him back in India colours in October 2007 but he was again left out for younger choices for the tour of Australia. It has to be seen that he had performed well on his recall in 2007 but he again found himself dropped. What more can a player do but perform to keep his place in the squad.
Currently he is playing county cricket for Somerset and has performed admirably. As I write he is playing his sixth match of the season and has already taken 34 wickets. He has taken 5 wickets five times already and has taken ten in a match twice. The fact that these have been taken on tracks that support seamers just speaks of his class. The Indian spinners are currently struggling to get wickets in Sri Lanka. Harbhajan, Ojha and Mishra haven’t had much success on this tour. The form that Kartik is showing should automatically make him a candidate for a spot in the Indian team. Somerset have already realised his worth and have extended his contract by a year. My point is that he should be given another run in international cricket. He is in form and might just be the answer to India’s bowling woes. He was once quoted “The Holdings and the Athertons say I am one of the top three left-arm spinners in the world... People say I am the best left-arm spinner in India, but I am not playing for India.” He has a point. In the process of trying youngsters India is probably missing a very good match winner and a consistent performer. It is time to get him back. If he performs, who knows, he may be a good option for the World Cup next year as well.
sachi yaar
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