Murali Kartik is the best spinner
Indian middle-order batsman VVS Laxman had said in 2010 that the bench strength in spin bowling department in Indian cricket is a worrying sign. He is not far from the truth. But unfortunately, everybody has ignored the best spinner available in India, who in my opinion is even better than Harbhajan Singh.He has really been a victim of selectorial whims and in my opinion should go down as one the best left-arm spinners in recent times.
India has a high quality spinner who is one of the best in the world, and he is not even in the reckoning! He is Murali Kartik. He is dropped for long periods and then picked again. Whenever given a chance he performs. In 2003 November, he played in the TVS Triangular Series, and was by far the best bowler. Then he played in the Mumbai Test against Australia in November 2004, and single-handedly won India the match and was also declared 'Man of the Match'. He helped India defend 107 against the powerful Australian team. But he got to play only one more Test after that, against South Africa the same month (Nov 2004), and was dropped ever since. What else is he expected to do? He ran through the most powerful team in the world, won the Man-of-the-Match award, and never played another Test after just one more Test?
After that, he was picked in 2007 against Australia for the one-dayers, and again did very well, he in fact took 6 wickets in an innings in an ODI against Australia in Mumbai and won the game for India. He took 6/27 against the very powerful Australian side which had won 3 World Cups in a row, the last two (2003 and 2007) without losing a single game. Those figures of 6/27 are till date the best ever figures by a left-arm spinner in one-day cricket. But he only played three more one-dayers and was dropped ever since. One wonders what else is he expected to do? Instead of continuing with him, selectors again dropped him ignoring his outstanding performance. Kartik is far better than Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla or even Harbhajan Singh, and he is not even being mentioned!
These videos will show how Murali Kartik bamboozled the world's most powerful team Australia in 2007 in Mumbai.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69SGafsuBE
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGl9pbooJwo
He is 37 now (as of Feb 2014), but can still play for 4-5 years more. Pravin Tambe showed how good one can be even at 42, and that age is just a number, its performance that matters. Indian media and selectors are saying: 'There is nothing beyond Chawla, Mishra and Ojha'. These people are really very short-sighted. The best spinner Murali Kartik doesn't even occur to them. During the 2009 IPL season, which was held in South Africa, Kartik played in ten matches and he was one of the most economical bowlers, conceding only 5.91 runs per over. His performance in the 2010 IPL was also awesome, so much that even the inept commentators noticed it and it was talked if he would make it to the Indian squad for the Twenty-20 World Cup held immediately afterwards in the West Indies. His economy rate in IPL 2010 was also an excellent 6.48. English counties like Middlesex realize his worthiness and sign him up, he keeps picking up wickets in heaps in unfriendly conditions in England, but our own selectors and media can't see his worth.
In IPL 2013, RCB were defending a very very low total of 115. Yusuf Pathan hit him for a six first ball. But Murali Kartik hit back and ended with figures of 4-0-17-1 with the wicket of Yusuf Pathan. As a proof of the fact that destiny is against him, he was dropped for the next game of RCB! But this performance was noted by cricinfo.com, so much that they gave a special article on this dual, at a time when the space of site was filled with continuous IPL games and other cricket matches. This excellent article from Siddharth Monga on Kartik's performance titled "Kartik wins in RCB's loss" can be read here.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2013/content/story/635554.html
After all 6 IPLs from 2008 till 2013, his economy rate of 7.06 across 54 matches is surely the credentials of a bowler who is not easy to hit out of the park with regularity.
Indeed as this article says: "The pitches in India are understandably at their driest during the months of April and May, when the IPL usually takes place and hence it is necessary for a team to have a crafty spinner in their ranks who can take advantage of those conditions. In that regard, Murali Kartik is the sort of bowler who can take advantage with his skill and guile, while on the other hand he can dry up the runs as well with his accurate bowling. However, the nature of T20 is such that any bowler can get clobbered once in a while but it is rare to see Kartik being taken to the cleaners by any batsman and for a spinner that is a great achievement. He can open the bowling if need be and is usually a steady bowler in the middle overs, which allows his captain to plan that part of the innings around him."
After that, he was picked in 2007 against Australia for the one-dayers, and again did very well, he in fact took 6 wickets in an innings in an ODI against Australia in Mumbai and won the game for India. He took 6/27 against the very powerful Australian side which had won 3 World Cups in a row, the last two (2003 and 2007) without losing a single game. Those figures of 6/27 are till date the best ever figures by a left-arm spinner in one-day cricket. But he only played three more one-dayers and was dropped ever since. One wonders what else is he expected to do? Instead of continuing with him, selectors again dropped him ignoring his outstanding performance. Kartik is far better than Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla or even Harbhajan Singh, and he is not even being mentioned!
These videos will show how Murali Kartik bamboozled the world's most powerful team Australia in 2007 in Mumbai.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69SGafsuBE
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGl9pbooJwo
He is 37 now (as of Feb 2014), but can still play for 4-5 years more. Pravin Tambe showed how good one can be even at 42, and that age is just a number, its performance that matters. Indian media and selectors are saying: 'There is nothing beyond Chawla, Mishra and Ojha'. These people are really very short-sighted. The best spinner Murali Kartik doesn't even occur to them. During the 2009 IPL season, which was held in South Africa, Kartik played in ten matches and he was one of the most economical bowlers, conceding only 5.91 runs per over. His performance in the 2010 IPL was also awesome, so much that even the inept commentators noticed it and it was talked if he would make it to the Indian squad for the Twenty-20 World Cup held immediately afterwards in the West Indies. His economy rate in IPL 2010 was also an excellent 6.48. English counties like Middlesex realize his worthiness and sign him up, he keeps picking up wickets in heaps in unfriendly conditions in England, but our own selectors and media can't see his worth.
In IPL 2013, RCB were defending a very very low total of 115. Yusuf Pathan hit him for a six first ball. But Murali Kartik hit back and ended with figures of 4-0-17-1 with the wicket of Yusuf Pathan. As a proof of the fact that destiny is against him, he was dropped for the next game of RCB! But this performance was noted by cricinfo.com, so much that they gave a special article on this dual, at a time when the space of site was filled with continuous IPL games and other cricket matches. This excellent article from Siddharth Monga on Kartik's performance titled "Kartik wins in RCB's loss" can be read here.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2013/content/story/635554.html
After all 6 IPLs from 2008 till 2013, his economy rate of 7.06 across 54 matches is surely the credentials of a bowler who is not easy to hit out of the park with regularity.
Indeed as this article says: "The pitches in India are understandably at their driest during the months of April and May, when the IPL usually takes place and hence it is necessary for a team to have a crafty spinner in their ranks who can take advantage of those conditions. In that regard, Murali Kartik is the sort of bowler who can take advantage with his skill and guile, while on the other hand he can dry up the runs as well with his accurate bowling. However, the nature of T20 is such that any bowler can get clobbered once in a while but it is rare to see Kartik being taken to the cleaners by any batsman and for a spinner that is a great achievement. He can open the bowling if need be and is usually a steady bowler in the middle overs, which allows his captain to plan that part of the innings around him."
It is also surprising that the Chairman of selectors from 2008-12, Krishnamachari Shrikanth himself being from Tamil Nadu, the same state as Murali Kartik, did not seem to have noticed this man's talent. English commentators doing commentary in England for the domestic county cricket have also wondered many times as to why Murali Kartik is not playing for India. One of them rated Kartik as one of the top 3 spinners in the world. Micheal Holding, Mike Atherton, Nick Knight etc all see his worth, but not our media, commentators and selectors.
I heard Sanjay Manjrekar say in 2010-11 that Pragyan Ojha is like Venkatpathy Raju, (complementing Anil Kumble in the 1990s). Venkatpathy Raju too was a victim of selectorial whims, could have played much more than he did. Murali Kartik is much more like Raju than Ojha. He has been a victim. Ojha has been lucky.
I heard Sanjay Manjrekar say in 2010-11 that Pragyan Ojha is like Venkatpathy Raju, (complementing Anil Kumble in the 1990s). Venkatpathy Raju too was a victim of selectorial whims, could have played much more than he did. Murali Kartik is much more like Raju than Ojha. He has been a victim. Ojha has been lucky.
Really, looking at the injustice done to this man, I feel that I want him to be picked in the Indian team more than he does! May God give brain to the selectors and the commentators, and the media, and may Kartik be picked to serve Team India for another few years.
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