A forehand chop shot is associated with table tennis and some other racquet sports. Even on those boards or surfaces, it’s a difficult one to execute. To do it on a cricket field! Kidding?
The person who played it has possibly played his last match. He did not have the last laugh. His team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, lost in the IPL 2024 Eliminator. His innovation did not come off. But Dinesh Karthik left the cricket field head held high.
The chop referred to here is actually a reverse, which makes it that more unrealistic. Tried honestly, the forehand version is plausible, but dictionary has no space for the other, the complete opposite.
Cricket will most probably not remember ‘Din’ for that outrageous innovation. People will not even recollect that his international debut happened before the man whose likely departure is causing a global storm. Karthik played for India before MS Dhoni did.
He was just a kid back then in 2004. A lot of people say that he remained one. Impetuous, given to the occasion and bought by it, he was written off.
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From somewhere, this guy with the boy-next-door looks kept rediscovering. He reinvented. Became a massive scorer in the four-day format, led his state Tamil Nadu, turned into a maverick one-day player, won his state the national title and also in T20s. And since these things do not matter, he made a comeback to the Indian side for a World Cup.
This was not enough. He went on pushing the limits and set some. That funky chip or chop whatever you call it is a slap on the face of batting technique. Do not interpret this in a negative way. We are saying this because it goes against the principles of batting and the man who broke them knew those principles.
Karthik is a master batter. He can play all the shots there are in the book and some not in it. This has got overshadowed because he also keeps wickets. His basics are strong and on top of that, he had this ability to innovate. Never satisfied totally with what he was doing, he challenged extremities. That spoon shot or reverse chop laughing at the bowler is testimony of his uncanny ability.
How do you play that? One has to have a very creative mind to begin with. Then comes the technical part, getting the body into that impossible position and use the wrists for a completely un-cricket flick. This goes against everything cricket and for everything Karthik.
Quirky, troublesome may be and who bettered a stormy personal life, Karthik is an antithesis. He goes to Chepauk in a Batman car and defies stereotypes. Not always with a deliberate intention to deviate, he stands out for just being himself. Or, for that reverse chop!
Also Read: Fitness and romance, the Dinesh Karthik way