About Murali Kartik
Murali Kartik (, born 11 September 1976) is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who sporadically represented the national team from 2000 to 2007. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He was not selected for international matches during his prime years due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the Indian squad. A left-handed batsman who had some success with the bat at first-class level with 21 half-centuries, Murli was not able to repeat such performances at international level. After starting out in the Delhi junior system, Murali moved through the age group ranks at Railways and was selected for the Indian Under-19 team. He made his first-class debut in 1996–97 and after a few productive seasons at the domestic level, made his Test debut in early 2000 as Kumble's bowling partner. However, he ran into disciplinary problems and was expelled from the National Cricket Academy in the same year. At the same time, new national captain Sourav Ganguly was reluctant to entrust him with responsibility. Ganguly called for off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to be recalled in 2001 and was rewarded with a series-winning performance against Australia. This entrenched the off-spinner in the team and left Kartik on the outer. For the next four years, Kartik was on the fringes of selection. He made his ODI debut in 2002. However a series of disappointing performances lead to him missing the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He was recalled in late 2003 for limited overs matches and played in approximately half of India's matches over six months, as well as one Test after Harbhajan suffered a serious injury. In late 2004, Kartik played in three Tests as India fielded three spinners and claimed his only man-of-the-match award in Tests against Australia in Mumbai, but was again dropped two matches later. In late 2005, Murali became a regular member of the ODI team for a few months when the International Cricket Council introduced an experimental rule that allowed one substitute to be used, opening an extra vacancy in the national team. However, Kartik was unable to secure his position in the team and the rule was later revoked. In late 2007, Kartik broke back into the ODI team and took 6/27 in one victory over Australia, but lost form soon after and was again dropped. He has not represented India since then. Aside from domestic cricket, Kartik played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and has been in demand in English county cricket as an overseas player, representing Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey. Kartik has been part of the IPL commentary team since 2015 and regularly commentates on the Indian national team's home games. Murali was Railways' most effective bowler, taking 4/57 in Punjab's first innings of 310. He then made 14 not out as Railways ceded a first-innings lead, which was enough to give Punjab the title as the match ended in a draw.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.