Murali Kartik

Born on 11 September 1976, Murali Kartik is an Indian former cricketer who was part of the Indian cricket team from 2000 to 2007. Karthik was an expert slow left-arm orthodox bowler known for his loop trajectory and spin and bounce ability.

He started his first-class career in 1996–97 where he made some exceptional performances at domestic level and then made his Test debut in 2000 where he joined the team under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. He made his ODI debut in 2002 but missed the 2003 Cricket World Cup due to his average performance. However, he returned to the team in late 2003 after Harbhajan Singh got injured. 2004 was a great year in his career as he took his career-best figures in a Test match against Australia. In 2014, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Since then, he has been a part of the commentary team of BCCI.

Some of his major career achievements:

• In 2004-05, he bagged 7 wickets in a test match against Australia and selected as the Man of the Match.
• Became a regular member of the ODI team in 2005 for a few months
• In 2007, he took his best ODI bowling figures 6/27 against Australia and led the team to the victory.
• Kartik played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and also played in the English county cricket as an overseas player, representing Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey.