Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik recalled the first-ever IPL auction when he had hoped to be picked by Chennai Super Kings, the franchise from his home state.

Recently in interaction with Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said that he was shocked when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) picked MS Dhoni over him in the inaugural season of the IPL.

"The first name I saw picked (by CSK in the first IPL auction) was MS Dhoni, for 1.5 million. He was sitting right down the corner from me. He didn't even tell me a word that he was going to be picked by CSK. I guess he didn't know, but that was the biggest dagger to my heart," Dinesh Karthik said.

Notably, Karthik has represented six IPL franchises but the wicketkeeper-batsman hasn't yet played for the team from his hometown. Karthik has been Tamil Nadu's star cricketer over the past decade but unlike his state teammates- Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin- he never had the luck to play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).



"Then I thought they're going to pick me later. But it's been 13 years and I’m still waiting for the elusive call from CSK," Karthik added.

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer has been in and out of the Indian senior team all throughout his career, having played second fiddle to MS Dhoni for the most part of his career.

The first IPL franchise that Karthik played for was Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), having been roped in during the inaugural edition in 2008. He has since gone on to play for Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders.