Murali Kartik (, born 11 September 1976) is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who sporadically represented the national team from 2000 to 2007. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He was not selected for international matches during his prime years due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the Indian squad. A left-handed batsman who had some success with the bat at first-class level with 21 half-centuries, Murli was not able to repeat such performances at international level.
After starting out in the Delhi junior system, Murali moved through the age group ranks at Railways and was selected for the Indian Under-19 team. He made his first-class debut in 1996–97 and after a few productive seasons at the domestic level, made his Test debut in early 2000 as Kumble's bowling partner. However, he ran into disciplinary problems and was expelled from the National Cricket Academy in the same year. At the same time, new national captain Sourav Ganguly was reluctant to entrust him with responsibility. Ganguly called for off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to be recalled in 2001 and was rewarded with a series-winning performance against Australia. This entrenched the off-spinner in the team and left Kartik on the outer.
For the next four years, Kartik was on the fringes of selection. He made his ODI debut in 2002. However a series of disappointing performances lead to him missing the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He was recalled in late 2003 for limited overs matches and played in approximately half of India's matches over six months, as well as one Test after Harbhajan suffered a serious injury. In late 2004, Kartik played in three Tests as India fielded three spinners and claimed his only man-of-the-match award in Tests against Australia in Mumbai, but was again dropped two matches later. In late 2005, Murali became a regular member of the ODI team for a few months when the International Cricket Council introduced an experimental rule that allowed one substitute to be used, opening an extra vacancy in the national team. However, Kartik was unable to secure his position in the team and the rule was later revoked. In late 2007, Kartik broke back into the ODI team and took 6/27 in one victory over Australia, but lost form soon after and was again dropped. He has not represented India since then.
Aside from domestic cricket, Kartik played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and has been in demand in English county cricket as an overseas player, representing Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey.
Kartik has been part of the IPL commentary team since 2015 and regularly commentates on the Indian national team's home games.
Early life
Born on 11 September 1976 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, Murali Kartik wanted to be a genetic engineer. He was a medium pacer in his early years before switching to a left-arm finger spinner in the classical mould. Kartik grew up trying to emulate past Indian orthodox spinners Bishen Singh Bedi, Maninder Singh and Venkatapathy Raju. He also garnered attention for what was perceived to be a fiery attitude. Still, he took pride in coach Kapil Dev, saying of him, "I have never seen a player with such an attitude towards the game in my 20 years of international cricket".
Kartik started out in the junior system at Delhi. He broke into their Under-16 team in December 1992 and took a match total of 10/74 on debut against Himachal Pradesh, and scored 52 not out in an innings victory. He took 2/91 in the next match against Haryana but could no longer play in the Under-16s because of his advancing age. He could not break into the Under-19s at Delhi and played no further youth domestic matches for two years before transferring to Railways and breaking into their Under-19 team.
In five matches for his new team during 1994–95, he took 24 wickets at an average of 14.58, including a five-wicket haul (5/28) against Vidarbha. He was rewarded for his performance with a selection into the Under-19 Central Zone team for the zonal one-day tournament, taking five wickets at an average of 25.00 in four matches. He had little success with the bat, scoring 47 on one occasion during the season, but otherwise only aggregating nine runs in six innings.
The following season in 1995–96, Murali had a more successful season for Railways Under-19s. He started with 5/73 and 5/55 against Madhya Pradesh and made it three five-wicket hauls in a row with 5/42 against Vidarbha. He took another five-wicket haul later in the season against Rajasthan and ended the competition with 38 wickets at 18.94 in seven matches. Railways made the final, where they faced Punjab. Murali was Railways' most effective bowler, taking 4/57 in Punjab's first innings of 310. He then made 14 not out as Railways ceded a first-innings lead, which was enough to give Punjab the title as the match ended in a draw. Kartik took 3/138 in the second innings. After the final, the newly crowned champions took on the Rest of India, and Kartik took 2/25 and 4/89 to help his team to a six-wicket victory. Kartik had a less successful time in the zonal one-dayers for Central, taking only one wicket in three matches. He also improved his batting marginally, scoring 57 and three other double-digit scores.
As a result of his performances during the season, Kartik was called up to the Indian Under-19 team for an international series against South Africa. In the youth Test, he took 4/40 as India dismissed South Africa for 159 to take a 19-run lead. In the second innings, he took 3/30 as South Africa fell for 107 in pursuit of 277. In two youth one-day internationals that followed, Kartik was prominent in the Indian victories, taking 3/23 and 3/33, respectively.
Domestic career
The following season, 1996–97, Kartik was promoted into the senior ranks. In his first match, a List A fixture against Madhya Pradesh, Kartik took 2/27 from ten overs but was unable to prevent a four-wicket loss. He made his first-class debut the next day against the same team and bowled 16 overs, taking a total of 1/18 in a drawn match. In a closely contested match, Madhya Pradesh were 8/89 and 17 runs short with two wickets in hand when time ran out. Kartik had scored a rearguard 47 in the second innings, without which Madhya Pradesh would have won. In his next first-class match, against Vidarbha, he took a hat-trick in the first innings, ending with 6/28, helping to bowl Vidarbha out for 130. He then took 3/27 in the second innings as Vidarbha made only 95 to cede victory to Railways. He ended the season with 16 wickets at 19.37 and 185 runs at 20.55, including a 74 against Bengal. Still, he was overlooked for the Central Zone selection for the Duleep Trophy after taking only six wickets in his last four matches for the season. In four one-day matches for Railways, Kartik took seven wickets at 12.42, including a match-winning 4/13 against Rajasthan.
The following season, he managed 14 wickets at 18.42 in four matches but was dropped in the later stages of the tournament. After taking a match total of 7/74 in helping to orchestrate an innings victory over Rajasthan in his third match of the season, Kartik went wicketless in the next match against Madhya Pradesh and was dropped. He scored 70 runs at 23.33 during the tournament. In four one-dayers for Railways, he took four wickets at 29.75 at an economy rate of 3.30. Despite being dropped by Railways, Kartik was called up to make his senior debut for Central Zone. He took two wickets at 63.00 in two first-class matches and then took three wickets at 43.00 at an economy rate of 4.30 in three matches.
Despite the modest returns during the season, Kartik was selected for an India A tour of Pakistan in February and March 1998. In four first-class matches, which were persistently curtailed by the weather, Kartik bowled only 31 overs and only two in the two matches against Pakistan A. He finished with four wickets at 27.50. In the two one-dayers, he proved expensive, taking 1/53 and 0/73 from ten overs each, as Pakistan won both matches easily.
At the start of the 1998–99 season, Kartik took 23 wickets for Vijay Cricket Club in the Chennai League. He played more regularly in the 1998–99 Ranji Trophy, taking 29 wickets in seven matches at 19.3 to be the 13th-highest wicket-taker. This included a 3/8 and 4/62 in an innings win over Rajasthan and 5/84 and 5/55 in the last two matches of the campaign against Tamil Nadu and Delhi. He also added 29 and 53 with the bat against Tamil Nadu to help stave off a defeat after they were trailing by over 200 in the first innings.
He was rewarded with selection for Central Zone and, after taking 4/133 against North Zone, claimed 5/73 and 2/22 in the final to help them defeat West Zone by 112 runs in Aurangabad to claim the Duleep Trophy and was the leading wicket-taker during the tournament. He scored a total of 183 runs at 18.30 for the entire Indian first-class season. He took five wickets at 26.60 in four zonal one-dayers, winning all four matches.
International career Early international career Kartik had a truncated but productive 1999–2000 Indian season. After taking a solitary wicket in a truncated match for India A against the touring New Zealand, Kartik snared 6/62 and 6/31 against Vidarbha. He then went on an India A tour to the West Indies, so his only other first-class match was a Ranji Trophy encounter against Rajasthan, in which he took 4/53. In four first-class matches in the Caribbean, Kartik took 18 wickets at 16.38. This included two matches against West Indies A, in which he took 6/75 before claiming 3/64 and 5/73 in the second match, although he was unable to force a victory in either. In two one-day matches against West Indies, Kartik took two wickets at 26.00 at an economy rate of 3.46. Returning to India, he took 12 wickets at 13.08 in five matches for Railways and the Indian Board president's XI before playing in the zonal one-dayers with less success, managing only two wickets at 91.50 at an economy rate of 4.57. Despite these struggles, he was selected for the India A team for the Challenger Trophy, where he took four wickets at 38.00 at an expensive economy rate of 5.84.
Despite the downturn in his limited overs fortunes towards the end of the season, Kartik's form was enough to earn him selection in the Indian Board president's XI for the tour match against the visiting South Africans before the Tests. He had a match total of 2/122, which was enough for him to secure national selection, playing in both Tests against South Africa in early 2000 at Mumbai and Bangalore as India sought a second spinner to accompany Anil Kumble after Harbhajan Singh's performance in the role the previous season had been deemed inadequate. Kartik scored 14 before being bowled by Shaun Pollock as India batted first and made 225. He then took 2/28 from 18 overs as India restricted the tourists to 176 before collapsing to be all out for 113 in the second innings. Kartik scored only two runs before being caught behind by Pollock. Kartik took 1/50 in the second innings as South Africa ground their way to the target of 163 with four wickets in hand. In the second Test, Kartik took 3/123 and scored a duck and two as India was crushed by an innings. Overall, Kartik performed steadily, taking six wickets at 33.50.
Kartik was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, after earlier having made his Test debut in early 2000 in a home series against South Africa. However, his stay was cut short along with that of Harbhajan, when they were expelled by the director Hanumant Singh over disciplinary issues.