More, who played for India in 49 Tests between 19886 and 1993 and accounted for 130 dismissals including 20 stumpings, said Karthik has made some technical adjustments.
Whatever Dinesh Karthik touches seems to be turning into gold now-a-days. Be it scoring the winning runs for India or staying till the end for Kolkata Knight Riders, or his abilities with his specialist role as a wicketkeeper.
Karthik made a remarkable return to international cricket last year, named in the ICC Champions Trophy squad in England and getting to play in the West Indies after a gap of more than three years. His return has pleased former India wicket-keeper Kiran More.
The 55-year-old wicket-keeping coach of Mumbai Indians and former chief national selector said here on Thursday: "I like the way he has come back. I was a bit unhappy with him when he left wicket-keeping for a while. When Dhoni retired (from Tests), he came back to wicket-keeping. Wicket-keepers' life is not easy. Dhoni, as captain, would play all formats. Opportunities for other wicket-keepers was not easy. DK must have gone through a lot mentally.
"The way he has come back is unbelievable. He had waited for long. The talent was always there. DK is an outstanding wicketkeeper. He could have achieved a lot more than what he has achieved."
More was speaking on the sidelines of the CCI Legends Club to mark the birth anniversary of legendary former India all-rounder, Late Vinoo Mankad.
Technical adjustments
More, who played for India in 49 Tests between 19886 and 1993 and accounted for 130 dismissals including 20 stumpings, said Karthik has made some technical adjustments. "The other day, he sent me a photo of him 'keeping to Andre Russell (in IPL) and he was talking about his head position. I have always been talking to him about the head position, that he has to keep his head down and not to look at the batsman where he is hitting. I have been mentoring wicket-keepers for a while now. Wicket-keeping is such that if you start following the batsman, where he is hitting, you are in trouble. That is a simple lesson. You don't follow the batsman where he is hitting the ball but follow the ball where it hits the pitch. And, that is what Dinesh Karthik is following," More said.
The ongoing IPL, in only its first week, has already seen quite a few thrilling finishes with the bowlers at the receiving end in run chases. Asked if he would prefer to use spinners at the death instead of pacers (KKR's remember R Vinay Kumar not able to defend against CSK in Chennai?), More said: "I always believe you should have a gutsy captain who will throw the ball to the spinner at the death. That is what Dhoni does sometimes, that's where he gets the numbers. You need to trust the bowler, what you want from him. If the captain trusts a spinner, why not throw the ball to him (in the death)? A lot of fast bowlers go for 25-30 runs. Why not the spinners? They will give you a wicket. And, when you get wickets, there are chances you will win the match."
Yorkers, slower ball crucial
More felt for the medium-pacers in today's age where the bat dominate the ball in limited-overs. "They will have bad days and good days. Fast bowlers like (Jasprit) Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar are smart enough and have skills and can survive. Siddharth Kaul also. He is doing very well. He is a quality bowler and has got a lot of variation, good yorker, two or three slower ball variations. These are the bowlers who will survive and do well. At the end of the day, there are so many edges. Too many top-edges go for sixes. You can't blame bowlers for that. And batsmen take chances. They can hit long."
So, in such situations, what do the bowlers do?
More has an answer. "It is very important to read a batsman. You have to see his grip, his stance and then decide what to bowl. You want to bowl exactly where the captain wants you to bowl. There is a lot of planning, the video analysis tell you where to bowl, what the weak areas are. Yorker is still the best delivery. Slower ones and its variations are very important. That is why, in the death over, these two deliveries are very crucial. When you look at the bowlers, especially the top bowlers like Bhuvi, Bumrah or Dwayne Bravo, they bowl brilliant yorkers and slower ones. And, you must have a good surprise bouncer."
The 1992 World Cupper from Baroda said that having Indian wicket-keepers rather than foreigners in IPL would give the teams an extra option of fast bowlers or all-rounders.
"Indian wicket-keepers give you a lot of balance, We have good wicket-keepers in Ishan Kishan (Mumbai Indians), Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils), Dinesh Karthik (KKR), Sanju Samson, KL Rahul (KXIP), Wriddhiman Saha (SRH). Parthiv Patel (RCB) and Aditya Tare (MI) are waiting in the reserves. They are all outstanding batsmen too. That gives good balance. You can play around with all-rounders and fast bowlers," said More.
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 "Dinesh Karthik")
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