Dinesh Karthik is an Indian professional cricketer. He is a wicket-keeper and batsman who made his debut for the Indian cricket team in the year 2004. He became captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He has performed admirably behind the stumps as well as with the bat too. The teams which Karthik has played for, are Delhi Capitals, India A, India Blue, India U19, Board Presidents XI, Tamil Nadu, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Rest of India, East Zone, South Zone, Royal Challengers Bangalore, India B, Gujarat Lions, TUTI Patriots, India Red, Kolkata Knight Riders, World XI, Karaikudi Kaalai, India C.
| Dinesh Karthik (Cricketer) | |
|---|---|
| Bio/Wiki | |
| Full Name | Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik |
| Nickname | DK |
| Profession | Indian Cricketer (Right-hand Batsman and Wicket-keeper) |
| Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 170 cm |
| in meters- 1.70 m | |
| in feet inches- 5’ 7” | |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 65 kg |
| in pounds- 143 lbs | |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | - Chest: 38 inches |
| - Waist: 30 inches | |
| - Biceps: 14 inches | |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Cricket | |
| International Debut | Test- 3 November 2004 against Australia at Mumbai |
| ODI- 5 September 2004 against England at London | |
| T20- 1 December 2006 against South Africa at Johannesburg | |
| Coach/Mentor | Robin Singh |
| Jersey Number | #21, 19 (India) |
| #21, 19 (Domestic) | |
| Domestic/State Team | Abahani Limited, Albert TUTI Patriots, Delhi Daredevils, Gujarat Lions, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Zone, Tamil Nadu |
| Nature on field | Calm |
| Records (main ones) | • The first ever Indian cricketer to win a T20I Man of the Match award (against South Africa in 2006). |
| • He has done batting from opening position to No. 7. | |
| Career Turning Point | Performance in the 2004 domestic season. |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 1985-06-01 00:00:00 |
| Age (as in 2018) | 33 Years |
| Birth Place | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Gemini |
| Signature | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| School(s) | Don Bosco School, Chennai |
| St. Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai | |
| Indian Public School in Salmiya, Kuwait | |
| College | Not Known |
| Educational Qualification | Not Known |
| Family | Father- Krishnakumar (Worked as a System Analyst) |
| Mother- Padma (Worked in IDBI and ONGC) | |
| Brother- Vinesh (Younger) | |
| Sister- None | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Brahmin |
| Address | An apartment called The Karthik’s’ in Chennai |
| Hobbies | Playing sudoku, Reading, Swimming, Travelling |
| Controversy | It was believed that there was a love triangle between Karthik, his Ex-wife Nikita and cricketer Murali Vijay as it was said that she cheated on him with Murali Vijay |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Cricketer(s) | Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar, Ian Botham |
| Bowler: R Ashwin | |
| Favourite Tennis Player | Roger Federer |
| Favourite Food | Butter chicken |
| Favourite Actor(s) | Rajinikanth, Suriya, Dhanush |
| Favourite Musician | A.R. Rahman |
| Girls, Family & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Nikita Vanjara |
| Dipika Pallikal (Squash Player) | |
| Wife/Spouse(s) | First Wife- Nikita Vanjara (m. 2007–div. 2012) |
| Second Wife- Dipika Pallikal (m. 2015-present) | |
| Marriage Date | 18 August 2015 (with Dipika Pallikal - as per Christian rituals) |
| 20 August 2015 (with Dipika Pallikal - as per Hindu rituals) | |
| Marriage Place | Christian- The Leela Palace hotel in Chennai |
| Hindu- ITC Grand Chola in Chennai | |
| Children | Son- None |
| Daughter- None | |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Porsche 911 Turbo S |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (as in 2018) | Retainer Fee: ₹3 crore |
| Test Fee: ₹15 lakh | |
| ODI Fee: ₹6 lakh | |
| T20 Fee: ₹3 lakh | |
| IPL 11: ₹7.4 crore | |
| Net Worth (approx.) | ₹44 crore |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Dinesh Karthik
- Does Dinesh Karthik smoke?: No
- Does Dinesh Karthik drink alcohol?: Not Known
- Dinesh was born into a Tamil Brahmin family with a sporting background as his father was a first-division cricketer for Chennai.
- During his childhood, he and his family lived in Kuwait for some years where he started playing cricket by watching English County cricket matches on TV.
- He was coached by former Indian cricketer, Robin Singh.
- On his ODI debut in 2004 vs England, he dropped Michael Vaughan but later did a fabulous stumping to dismiss him.
- Due to his inconsistent performance in wicket-keeping and batting, he was replaced by MS Dhoni at the end of 2004.
- Cricketer Mulari Vijay is married to his Ex-wife Nikita.
- His second wife, Dipika Pallikal is an Indian Squash Champion.
- He first met his second wife, Dipika Rebecca Pallikal at the Chennai marathon in 2008, through their common gym trainer, Shankar Basu, of ‘Maverick Gym,’ Chennai.
- He used to wear the #19 jersey for India, which was Rahul Dravid‘s jersey number before.
- He is a huge fan of sports cars.
- He has played for many IPL teams, like Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Lions, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
- He was going through a rough patch in late 2015 and early 2016 and was desperate for something to get his international cricket career back on track. During this period, he shared about his struggle with his friend Abhishek Nayar, a Mumbai cricketer. Nayar suggested Karthik to join him in his “House of Pain”, a room in Nayar’s Mumbai residence, having a small area, and lack of facilities, especially for a person like Karthik who was used to of living a luxurious life. Over there, Nayar and Karthik did batting visualization techniques, meditation, and rigorous training in the afternoons, which not only transformed Karthik’s batting technique, but also his mental strength to make a strong comeback on the cricketing field.
- For the first time in his IPL career, he captained Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 11 (2018), in place of Gautam Gambhir.
- Daniel Vettori once gifted him his award motorbike during an IPL season.
- He is an avid dog lover.
- On 18 March 2018, he hit a six off the last ball to give India a memorable victory over Bangladesh in the finals of the Nidahas Trophy T20 tri-series.
