“He didn’t say ‘How many shirts I need to take?”, Harsha Bhogle reveals the interesting interaction with Dinesh Karthik ahead of his commentary debut

Veteran India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has been liked for various roles that he has played over the course of his over two-decade-long professional career, including a rookie Test opening batter doing well in England, a veteran wicket-keeper batter nailing the finisher’s role and a white-glove commentator.

Karthik is one of the only currently playing international cricketers who is also a regular pundit for all three forms. He is well known as DK, and the fact that he only plays one format at the present time makes him more readily accessible for commentary jobs in key tournaments like the ICC World Test Championship Final in 2021, The Hundred in 2021, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023.

Fans’ immediate approval of Karthik’s in-depth analysis before and after games may be inferred from their responses on social media. The 37-year-old also has a flair for making use of his knowledge of current cricketers.

When Karthik first started working for Sky Sports, it was during England’s tour of India in 2021, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sky had Karthik and experienced England bowler Stuart Broad as two of their analysts for their feed in England, even though Star Sports Network was the host broadcaster of the multi-format series.

Before building a name for himself in an unrelated sector, however, Karthik made it a priority to educate himself on best practices by having a chat with the great broadcaster Harsha Bhogle. Karthik, who had been messaging Bhogle for help, received a call from Bhogle and proceeded to ask him a number of questions.

“He just messaged me, very politely, saying ‘Whenever you’re free, can I have a word with you?’ I said, ‘DK, we’ve known each other for years. Just call’,” Bhogle said on The Grade Cricketer Podcast in October 2022.

“What are the things I need to be careful about? How do the breaks work? What do I need to do? If there are three commentators, when do you say and when do you not say? He didn’t say ‘How many shirts I need to take?’ [all laugh]”

🤯 WHAT. A. SHIRT! 🤯

The every-stylish @DineshKarthik joins our commentary team for #SURvMID – and is dressed to impress! 🕶️👌

Dinesh has some fond memories of The Kia Oval – even if @athersmike has forgotten his fine 91! 👍

Watch #Blast21 on Sky Sports Cricket from 6.15pm 📺 pic.twitter.com/lQ2r2dqcRJ

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 25, 2021

Can we talk about how cool Dinesh Karthik’s shirt is? #INDvENG

— Renuka Odedra (@RenukaOdedra) March 26, 2021

Karthik, who made his commentary debut in a mini-studio he set up in his own room, also received praise for his impeccable style.

Wearing an unorthodox wardrobe for a pundit, which consisted mostly of brightly coloured flowered shirts, did wonders for him in attracting attention.