Nineteen years ago, a young Dinesh Karthik played his first T20 match - an international - against South Africa at the Wanderers. Chasing 127, he came in to bat with India on 71 for 3 in the 12th over. These days, we'd call an easy win for the batting side. Then, it was nervy. It took until the penultimate ball for Karthik to hit the winning runs in a player-of-the-match performance. A year later, Karthik was part of the Indian squad that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa, a triumph that he believes paved the way for how the world game looks today.
"Some of my best memories have come from South Africa, like winning the T20 World Cup and being part of something so special and that also started a very big trend in Indian cricket. It's called the IPL today," he said at the Paarl Royals pre-tournament press conference. "Things like that originated because of what happened in South Africa. So, I have very fond memories and I like the place in general."
He especially likes the place he finds himself in now: the picturesque Cape Winelands, where Paarl Royals have their base. "I've gone as far as to convince my family to come over as well. They weren't planning to come, but they're going to come because I said you don't get more beautiful places than this."
But Karthik is on more than just a nostalgia and nature-gazing trip. He is the first Indian player to feature in the SA20 and was sought after as both a cricketer and an ambassador: someone who could talk the tournament up in the subcontinent. And he is doing that already.
Asked if he thinks his presence will open the door for the other Indian players to come to the SA20, it was a firm yes. "Anybody who's done with playing IPL will always look at SA20 because it's the strongest comp. You get the best of players."
For this edition, that includes him. Karthik is here as a senior player for Paarl Royals, who finished third on the points table twice but are yet to make the final and have three of the youngest players in the tournament in their squad. Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Kwena Maphaka are just 18 years old and Dewan Marais is 19 and Karthik sees his role as key to their development.
"One of the reasons why I've been picked here is not only just to come and showcase my skills as a batter or a keeper, but also help in the growth of young South African players to become the best version of themselves. So whenever I've had the opportunity, I've had chats with them," he said. "I always feel knowledge learned is one side of it, but knowledge shared is a lot more fruitful. So in my experience, whenever a youngster comes and speaks to me about the sport, I'm happy to share my experiences. That is the least I could do."
Karthik will have a particular role to play with Pretorius, who is also a wicketkeeper-batter. While Paarl Royals will start with Karthik as keeper, "there could be opportunities that he (Pretorius) could be keeping and I could be fielding," Karthik said. "In the practice matches, we shared the load where we kept 10 overs each in one game. In the other game, I ended up keeping the whole time."
That means Karthik will keep to Maphaka, who he identified as "one of those bona fide superstars". Maphaka also accompanied him to the pre-tournament press conference.
"I watched him bowl in the U19 World Cup and it almost felt like when you play against South Africa, you need to get past that first spell. That's a feeling not many bowlers can give," Karthik said. "He's handled pressure, he's come with expectations, and it's great to see him grow into not only a good domestic cricketer, but today he's playing for South Africa in all three formats. If I was him, SA20 would be a great opportunity to show my skills at the T20 level but also be the person who can win matches for the team. He's a special player. He's got the skill sets to be the superstar that I expect him to be. In Kwena, South Africa has found a gem, and they need to protect him.
"He needs to learn how to take care of his body. The one thing that will happen as he grows is he could drop pace, and he doesn't want to do that," Karthik said. "So how he takes care of his body and mentally, every time he gets on the park, it should be about winning the game for that team."
Maphaka sat bashful next to Karthik as the praise poured out and confirmed he would "watch my bowling loads and make sure that I'm stretching and keeping my body in tip-top shape," after his "crazy" last 12 months. From the under-19 World Cup last January, to an IPL gig to a T20 debut in the Caribbean and his ODI and Test bow in the space of two weeks, Maphaka has barely had time to catch his breath.
"It's crazy to see how quickly things have moved and how quickly my life has changed," he said. "But I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground and continue being the player that I am, keep learning and keep striving for success, really."
That's where the likes of Karthik will come in: where younger players are in danger of being swept off their feet by the speed of events, to help them hit pause and remember they are part of something bigger.
"This team is a good blend of experience and some seriously prodigious talent. We speak about Kwena and Lhuan-dre but on the other hand, we have players like David Miller, Joe Root, who've been stalwarts for their countries over a period of time," Karthik said. "My role is to make sure that I'm there for the tough moments, and when the game is on the line, that I'm doing something very special to help the team. I really wish that this experience and youthful exuberance meet somewhere in the middle and something special is created."
Paarl Royals will kick off their campaign against two-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Saturday.