When Dinesh Karthik made his debut for India in 2004, Sourav Ganguly was captain, Twenty20 internationals were not a thing and few people outside the country's cricketing circles knew who MS Dhoni was.
Yet more than 13 years later, his place in Indian cricket history remains unresolved.
Karthik was only 19 when he started out as his country's most promising wicketkeeper, having replaced the equally young but erroneous Parthiv Patel. But people familiar with his domestic record - playing for the southern state of Tamil Nadu - knew he was more of a batsman who could keep wickets.
His natural athleticism came in handy, and he brilliantly stumped Michael Vaughan in his first one-day international against England at Lord's.
Watch the stumping
However, he failed to come good with the bat on a consistent basis and, perhaps for that reason, made silly mistakes behind the stumps. A few months later he was replaced by Dhoni, who went on to become India's most successful captain.
At that stage it looked like Karthik's career was over, but he kept coming back: in 2006, 2009, 2013 and twice this year. The sheer number of comebacks might suggest he does not have the staying power at international level, but it also indicates he is not one to give up either.
In fact, he worked even harder over the years to expand his batting repertoire and keep fit. The annual Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition helped, too, as it provided the stage for him to stay relevant.
The timing of Karthik's latest comeback to the national side could not be more perfect.
India's biggest challenge in recent times has been to find a full-time No 4 batsman in ODIs. After dispensing with the ageing Yuvraj Singh, who was the medium-to-long-term custodian of that position, many were trialled but none proved up to the task.
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Suresh Raina is not even in the squad. Manish Pandey is, but his latest outings did nothing but create more doubts about his temperament. Lokesh Rahul was tried in two series after which the selectors realised he indeed is an opener and does not fit the role. Kedar Jadhav stood in on a few occasions but seems more settled at No 5. Even Hardik Pandya was given a go, albeit in situations that demanded an uptick in the run rate.
Hence four years after India won the ICC Champions Trophy in England, the man who played a part in that campaign has stepped back into the breach. And he has done well so far.
In the first ODI of the ongoing home series against New Zealand, Karthik scored 37 batting at No 5. He was promoted to No 4 for the next game, and he repaid the selectors' faith by scoring an unbeaten 64 and in a winning run chase.
The internet has predictably been abuzz since, with talk that India may have finally found their man.
His ODI record needs sampling, though: 1,466 runs, including nine fifties, in 75 ODIs at an average of 29.91 and a strike rate of 73.19 are hardly sensational numbers. In fact, he has never scored back-to-back half-centuries in his career.
All celebrations must, therefore, be put on hold until Karthik proves his performance in Pune is no longer a rarity.
India have two years to prepare for the next World Cup and it will be prudent to persist with the man from Chennai for the next few months, at least. He certainly has the temperament, intelligence and experience to build an innings and provide the anchor India need in the middle overs.
If he does cement his place at No 4, he will finally - perhaps even belatedly - prove he belongs at the highest level. If he does not, it will mean he was not destined to be an Indian hero.
And India will return to square one.
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
