“How many shirts I need to take”: This is one advice which Dinesh Karthik didn’t seek from Harsha Bhogle before Sky Sports commentary debut

A rookie Test opening batter doing well in England, a veteran wicket-keeper batter nailing the finisher’s role and a white-glove commentator – veteran India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has managed to be liked by people for various roles that he’s played during the course of what has been over a two-decade long professional career now.

Karthik, who happens to know a thing or two about staying relevant, is one of the rare active international cricketers to also be an active commentator across formats.

Nicknamed DK, he is majorly known for playing only one format nowadays and the same aids him with respect to being available for commentary gigs for major competitions namely ICC World Test Championship Final 2021, The Hundred 2021 and Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

Going by social media reactions, is would be entirely correct to say that Karthik’s thorough analysis, both pre and post-matches, receives instant validation from fans. What further helps the 37-year old is his knack of benefiting from familiarity with modern-day cricketers.

This is one advice which Dinesh Karthik didn’t seek from Harsha Bhogle before Sky Sports commentary debut

It was during England’s tour of India 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when Karthik had debuted as a commentator for Sky Sports. Although Star Sports Network was the host broadcaster the multi-format series, Karthik and veteran England pacer Stuart Broad were among Sky’s two experts for their feed in England.

However, before making a splash into a completely different field, Karthik made it a point to gain expertise by learning thumb rules from a discussion with legendary broadcaster Harsha Bhogle. Karthik, who messaged Bhogle for sound advice, asked him several questions after receiving a call from the latter.

“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]”

Karthik, who arranged for a mini-studio at home during his commentary debut, was also successful in earning applauds for his dressing sense.

For the unversed, an array of shirts mostly consisting of bright-colored floral shirts worked wonders for him in alluring eyeballs on the back of wearing unconventional outfits for a commentator.