'Wanted to break that stereotype': Dinesh Karthik on maiden commentary stint

Dinesh Karthik, who was also seen in the commentary box during England's ODI series against Sri Lanka, said he wanted to break the stereotype in India that only former cricketers can take up commentary duties.

Dinesh Karthik’s voice and analysis in the commentary box was one of the most refreshing things about watching the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand. The wicketkeeper-batsman in his maiden stint as a commentator earned plaudits from the experts and fans alike. The veteran cricket who was also seen in the commentary box during England's ODI series against Sri Lanka, said he wanted to break the stereotype in India that only former cricketers can take up commentary duties.

Dinesh Karthik in the commentary box (Twitter)

"There are a lot of other sports like basketball and football where current players come on air when they are not playing.

"Even now during the Sri Lanka-England T20s, James Anderson was doing it for BBC in the next room. So it is a normal thing, it is only in India I think it is considered like that (post-retirement option). "I obviously want to break that stereotype to an extent and I am happy to do this when I am not playing," Karthik told PTI.

The former KKR captain started his journey as a cricket broadcaster in during England’s tour of India earlier this year, said his mindset was to speak whatever he knows about the game of cricket.

"I did that and it went pretty well. That is when I got the opportunity to do commentary and I decided to go for it. The mindset was just to speak about whatever little I know about the game," he said rather modestly having played more than 150 games for India across formats.

Before making his commentary debut, Karthik got to spend a lot of time with Sunil Gavaskar in Serbia, a country they were in for 10 days before entering the UK amid the pandemic. "I am extremely lucky that it happened. He gave me a few tips (on commentating) and it went well. More than the tips, the time I spent with him was very enlightening and enriching.

"It was also a lovely country and Sunny bhai and I got to meet the Serbian cricket team which was very interesting."

Karthik is coming across as a natural on the microphone and all he did was take a couple of online sessions (on when to speak on air, when not to) before flying to the UK via Serbia. Commentating on the players one has played with can be awkward but Karthik had a way of dealing with that.

"Commentary can be a lot of fun. You need to watch the sport very keenly to contribute in the right manner. "Even while talking about the players (teammates), you just speak about the sport and you tell people how hard it is from their shoes. That is what I was trying to do. "I enjoyed my process of understanding how each player would think at a certain point of time and speak on what is the right thing to do for them at the point of time.

"It has also been awesome to be sitting alongside Nasser and Athers (Atherton). They are the best in the business and just to get to chat about the game with them is something I have enjoyed immensely besides learning a huge amount," said Karthik.

(With PTI inputs)