da dobrowin： India’s stand-in keeper on his idol, a gift from Vettori, his complicated surname, and his favourite Rajnikant line
da mrbet： Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi28-Sep-2009Are you tired of carrying drinks yet?
A little bit, but I prefer carrying drinks for the Indian team than being anywhere else.Any funny experiences as a drinks carrier?
The first time I carried drinks was during the 2004 Champions Trophy. It was a wet outfield and I was running with the drinks and I couldn’t stop myself and just went sliding into Sourav Ganguly, who was giving a team chat in the huddle.We’ve heard Daniel Vettori gifted you a motorbike during this year’s IPL?
He won the Man of the Match in our first game. He doesn’t like motorbikes and he probably thought I was a good guy. I’ve kept it back home in Chennai and ride it sometimes.Name an interesting thing you own.
I have a St Bernard dog. They are very tough to take care of in the tropical weather in Chennai. They usually are found in mountains and the snow.If you were a coach how would you keep Sreesanth quiet?
Send him to dance class every day.Are you talkative?
Hmm, yes, I am.Are you punctual?
I’ve overslept a couple of times.Do you swear in Hindi or English on the field?
Hindi – the other teams don’t understand it.If you could change one thing in cricket, what would it be?
I would change 50-overs cricket into two innings each of 20-overs.Are you a walker?
Not really.You seemed to have finally settled on a name after changing it a few times. How many have you had?
My mom asked me to change it the first time. I had an extra “a” in my last name , and it then became an extra “c” as well, and then the extra “a” without the “c”, and I don’t know how many times I had to change it. But now it’s back to normal: Karthik.Did you have to change your signature, too?
No.Name one disadvantage of having your wife on tour.
It’s very tough to have a boys’ day out.Tell us about a cricketing souvenir you treasure.
The 2007 Twenty20 World Cup shirt, signed by the whole team.Who was your favourite Tamil movie hero as a kid?
It was Rajnikant, and it will be Rajnikant. I also like Surya, the present-day superstar, who is a good guy.What is your favorite Rajni line of dialogue?
“Naan oru thadava sonna nooru thadava sonna mathiri” [If I’ve said it once, it’s like I’ve said it a hundred times].What would you do if you’re stuck at a airport?
I don’t Twitter, and I’m done with Sudoku, so probably read a book or chat with someone.Have you ever given MS Dhoni a wicketkeeping tip?
I don’t remember giving him any tips, but I gave him my pads during the finals of the tri-series in Sri Lanka recently. He tried to stop a ball that was going down and he tried to slide, but the straps of his pads came off and he had to use mine. We won the game!Was there ever a cricket role you wanted to enact when you growing up?
I heard a lot about Ian Botham’s Ashes, in 1981. Everybody still talks about his performance. I always wanted to do be an allrounder. I don’t know why I picked keeping. I really wish I could contribute with both bat and ball, just like he did.