Veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently lauded Team India pacer Mukesh Kumar for his bowling performance in the ongoing second Test against the West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trindad.
Playing his first Test, Kumar impressed with his tidy spells, while also picking up the wicket of the well-set Kirk McKenzie on Day 3. Karthik opined that playing domestic cricket has provided the pacer with enough experience to do well on placid pitches.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after stumps on Day 3, Dinesh Karthik explained:
“You ask anybody in the domestic circuit, they will tell you Mukesh Kumar is born for Test cricket. Bowling those long overs, he is somebody if there is a little bit in the wicket, you can ask anybody who has played domestic cricket, he is a handful to deal with. On this pitch, even though there was not much, you could see how domestic cricket has helped him.”
Notably, Mukesh Kumar has achieved great success in the domestic circuit. He came into the West Indies Test series with 149 wickets to his name from 39 first-class games at a brilliant average of 21.55.
“Great success story for our domestic cricket” – Dinesh Karthik on Mukesh Kumar’s journey
Dinesh Karthik further spoke about Mukesh Kumar’s journey to the top, pointing out how the bowler had to fight his way to break into West Bengal’s domestic team after not initially getting a chance to bowl at the trials.
He suggested that Kumar’s success is a great success story for India’s domestic cricket. Karthik added:
“Mukesh Kumar, what a lovely story. Coming from a very humble background, a great success story for our domestic cricket. What was really impressive is they had bowling selections where anybody could come and bowl. He had come along with a lot of others but didn’t get his turn to bowl.”
“When Joydeep Mukherjee at the end was almost walking back to a car, one young boy went up to him and said, ‘Give me a couple of balls to bowl, I will impress you.’. He made him bowl those two balls, and the rest is history,” he added.
Kumar is expected to play a major role with the ball on Day 4 as India look to fold West Indies early. The hosts finished at 229/5 at stumps on Day 3, still trailing India by 209 runs.