Former India spinner Murali Kartik has opened up on his cricketing journey, crediting West Indies cricket and the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers for inspiring him to pursue a career in cricket.
"Look, I've had the good fortune of taking up the sport because of West Indies cricket. For me, Sir Garfield Sobers was a great inspiration. I don't know if many people know about that, but I took up the sport because of West Indies cricket, and Sir Garfield Sobers was the inspiration," Kartik said.
The left-arm spinner, who went on to represent India, said he was fortunate to have Bishan Singh Bedi and Maninder Singh as mentors.
"As and when I became a left-arm spinner, I was lucky enough that I had the great Bishan Bedi and Maninder Singh as my mentors. So for me, it's just been an absolutely brilliant journey."
Reflecting on his career that spanned over two decades, Kartik said he was blessed to play alongside some of Indian's finest cricketers.
"God was kind enough, I ended up playing the sport for twenty-six long years at various levels. I was also very lucky that I played possibly in one of the best generations with the likes of Sachin (Tendulkar), (Virender) Sehwag, Rahul (Dravid), (VVS) Laxman, Sourav (Ganguly), Zaheer (Khan), Ajit (Agarkar), (Javagal) Srinath, (Anil) Kumble, Harbhajan (Singh). So, I can't ask for more, (Mohammed) Azharuddin was my captain at one stage. So it's just been a really nice journey," he said.
Kartik, who made his debut in the longest format in 2000 against South Africa at the Wankhede, played eight Tests in which he picked up 24 wickets at an average of 34.16. He also has 37 ODI wickets from as many games at an average of 43.56.
In the IPL, he claimed 31 wickets in 56 matches while representing four different franchises.