Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik can be called a genuine case of being born in the wrong era. He had to compete with two of the greatest spinners in Indian cricket history in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, for a spot in the team during the prime of his career.
He only got a chance on either spinning pitches or when either of the two was injured or rested. He still managed 24 wickets in 8 Tests and 37 wickets in 37 ODI matches in a career that started in 2000 and ended in 2007.
Kartik, in an Instagram chat with Sportstar, did call himself lucky enough to don the national colors.
"1999-2008 is a fond memory. I didn't lose my competitive zeal and was playing County cricket. For a kid who never wanted to play cricket and wanted to become a genetic engineer to play for India was a bonus. To be praised by Michael Holding and other stalwarts was a bonus. Playing for the country for nine years is a blessing," he said.
Murali Kartik fears for traditional art of spin bowling; saying it is dying in India
He also spoke about the miserable time he spent with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and credits VVS Laxman for convincing him to retire rather than spending time on the sidelines of the national team. Kartik played a key role in Railways making it to the Ranji Trophy finals in 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
"It was horrible. I was third in the pecking order in the Indian team and I am not getting into the details there. I was the lone senior in Railways. Sanjay Bangar went, Kulamani Parida went and I had turned down offers to turn up as professional but I didn't want to leave Railways. My worst two months was when I was with IPL team Kings XI Punjab. It was then Laxman who had a word with my wife Shweta and he didn't want to see me like that,” Kartik said.
"I spoke to Laxman and then the media broadcasting thing happened. It wasn't a tough decision to make but it did take me a while to make the decision. I thought it was better to go while playing well," he said.
Meanwhile, he talked about the falling standards of spin bowling and blamed the T20 format for it.
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"The standard of spin bowling has been dropping and I feel the reason is too much of T20 cricket," Kartik told Sportstar during an Instagram chat.
"Nowadays most of the spinners dart and don't flight the ball. The drift, the flight, the spin, making the batsmen feel and getting him out, they are all gone," he said.
Kartik, who had a fruitful stint in the County championship playing for Middlesex, Somerset, Lancashire, and Surrey, said: "I always wanted to play County cricket. Bedi always used to say that you have not played cricket until you played in England. "
