Finally, Dinesh knocks off the competition

His cameos in the U-19 World Cup at Bangladesh and two successive centuries in the last Ranji season added to an irresistable case. And all the while, Parthiv was dropping sitters, missing easy stumpings and letting the ball go between his legs.

But Kaarthick doesn’t like being drawn into the obvious comparison. ‘‘Please don’t read much into it,’’ he told this The Indian Express before leaving for Zimbabwe with the India A team last month. ‘‘I’d rather my performance in the field does all the talking. I’ve met Parthiv just once and the word ‘competition’ never cropped in our conversation,’’ he said.

It did for many others, though. Indian coach John Wright was among the first few to go public over the growing competition among the youngsters. ‘‘Obviously, there is lot of competition (for the keeper-batsman slot) and Dinesh Kaarthick, is also challenging Parthiv,’’ Wright had said recently.

Then came a pat on the back from none other than Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and chief selector Syed Kirmani. Kaarthick’s popularity was growing by each passing day.

Perhaps, Kaarthick sensed what was to follow. ‘‘I enjoy my batting, keeping and won’t let this golden opportunity slip by,’’ he said when picked for India ‘A’.