Dinesh Karthik is one of the oldest members of senior India squad, who is still playing competitive cricket. There have been players for India who have played for more than 2 decades, but Karthik's journey is a little bit different. He was never a constant part of the team, yet he always stood up the the nation whenever given a chance. And amidst everything happening in an around his personal and professional life, he still continues to play, showing what passion and dedication means. Dinesh Karthik's longevity is something which is not much talked about, but it indeed is as inspiring as it should be.

When one thinks about the very first T20 international which India, played, the person looks it as if was a long time back. And it is a fact, that it was played back in 2006. It was one odd match which India played before the 2007 T20 world cup. It was the only T20 international which was played by Sachin Tendulkar in his career. And the match which happened 18 years back, saw Dinesh Karthik emerge as the Man of the Match for the team. His innings of 31 runs was crucial for India to win their first ever T20 match. And after a staggering 18 years after that occasion, Karthik is still going strong, now thrashing the bowlers of a different generation.

The longevity of Karthik is appealed from the fact that he made his debut even before Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and is a testament to how long Karthik has played the game for. And as he continues to play it, let's have a look of what all he has done, yet has gone unnoticed by many most of Indians and cricket lovers. Karthik made his debut back in 2004, few months before Dhoni made it to the international level. Prior to that he was a promising player, who scored truckload of runs playing for Tamilnadu. He was also a part of the U-19 Indian team in 2004.

He didn't perform well for India senior team on his debut, and was dropped from the squad. Since then, it has always been a journey of hide and seek for him. In 2006, he won player of the match award in the first ever T20 match played for India. Going ahead, he was a part of the world cup winning squad for India which won the inaugural edition of T20 world cup in 2007. He had his fair share in teams success, but was again dropped. But he worked on his technique and he greatly improved it. Going ahead he yet again made sporadic appearances for the team, and predominantly played just the domestic circuit.

In 2013 Champions trophy, he scored hundreds in the warm up games which India played. Yet he was not selected for most of the matches in the tournament. Eventually India did win the trophy, which happens to be the last ICC title for India till date. But Dinesh didn't get the credit he should've got. It still continued for many years. Then Nidahas trophy final happened in 2018. He pulled off an unbelievable victory for the team, which was rejoiced by Indian as well as Sri Lankan fans together. One of the finest short cameos of T20 internationals of all time, his name finally rose to fame. And he got the respect which he deserved from a long time. Also he earned the title of being the most expensive player of 2019 IPL.

While he got respect from IPL, hide and seek game still continued for his India appearance. He was a part of 2019 world squad. He didn't get a single chance to bat in the entire tournament, but finally got it directly in the semi-final of the tournament. With team reeling on 3 wickets for just 8 runs, he had a Herculean task of facing the Kiwi pacers under overcast conditions. And there was no way that a man who got first chance directly in such a high pressure game could've survived when the in-form top order collapsed. Yet he tried his best, but was still at the receiving end of anger from the fans. But in spite of all this, he never stopped.

There was a time when he switched to commentary. It seemed like his career as a player was over. And his amazing commentary and analysis made it look like that's what he is going to pursue. However, he had a good surprise for everyone in 2022 Ipl, as he returned as a finisher for RCB. And the way he was looked changed forever. A constant performer for RCB, he portrayed his role as a finisher with perfection. His performances were appreciated by all the fans and critics. And his heroics in the same editon of IPL yielded him a call-up for Indian squad for 2022 T20 world cup, at the age of 37. He proved that age is just a number, and continues to reiterate the fact with the innings he played like he did today.

Karthik's story is a lesson for everyone who gives up easily, after facing even the minor difficulties in life. He was never a constant member of the squad, yet he made sure he is putting his heart on the field. And it showed in his career. He peaked late, but it's better late than never. Also, apart from just his professional setbacks, he never let his personal issues come in the way of the game he loved. He showed the world that no matter how many times you fall, its important to rise as many number of times. Which is why, even after 20 years of him being in the international circuit, he still goes strong every single time he is given a chance to play. With insane longevity, he is truly and inspiration, and we just hope to see his longevity go ahead as his match winning knocks going ahead.