Come to think of it, both Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik started off their careers well before MS Dhoni started his and now, almost four years after the great man's retirement from Test Cricket, it is still Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik fighting for a place in the side. While Wriddhiman Saha has been outstanding behind the stumps for India, it is the pertinent question, 'who after Saha?', should be a deeper concern for Indian Cricket. For now though, Saha's unfortunate injury that has paved the way a chance for Dinesh Karthik. 

Dinesh Karthik has finally been rewarded for his outstanding performances in the domestic circuit for Tamil Nadu, with this late call-up to the pinnacle. He'll be playing his first Test in 8 years when he wore the gloves on Thursday against Afghanistan. 

Ahead of the game, Karthik feels his performances weren't good enough when he was first picked and hence, the Indian Cricket moved on from him. He said, "Look, I think I wasn't good enough, rather I was not consistent enough. That was a highly competitive environment and there was someone called MS Dhoni breathing down my neck, which caused a lot of stir in world cricket at that point of time. He went on to become one of the greatest captains India has ever produced,"

Dinesh has missed 87 Tests but he understands it why. 

"So, I didn't lose my place to some normal cricketer; he (Dhoni) was special. I respect him for that. At that stage, I could not produce enough performance to hold on to my side. I need to be honest with myself. Now, I have another opportunity and I guess, I will try my best,"

Karthik nows he is vulnerable to overthinking it and his fidgetiness can hamper his focus from the main job. He isn't thinking about how he can cement his place but is more concerned about doing his role to the best of his ability. 

"If you go deep into the question on what I should do to keep out someone else, then you are taking energy away from the fact that you are competing with somebody (Afghanistan). That puts extra pressure to what already is there," 

"What I am trying to do -- as clichéd as it may sound -- is trying to be the best cricketer that I can be, not on the field but also off the field. I am trying to be consistent there, even if I don't get an opportunity. Even if I don't play the sport at the highest level, I want to be content with the fact that I have given everything I had -- both on and off the field, if I go into your question and start thinking about that aspect, then it will be subjective -- I need to score this, I need to score that. I don't want to keep it that way. I want to keep it in a way which is to try and prepare as much as I can. And given a chance, try and deliver. I am keeping my whole process that way."

What has changed for Dinesh, he feels, is mentally training himself to take extra responsibility for his team. The modest and humble man did it for Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL and more pertinently did it for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy. 

"I enjoyed playing the Ranji Trophy. It is a totally different challenge. There are not many people coming and watch you play, yet we play the sport because we enjoy playing it. I am lucky that way because I have always done that subconsciously. I have enjoyed being a part of Tamil Nadu team"

Good things will eventually happen to good people and Dinesh Karthik's late surge has proven that. 

(Inputs from TOI)