Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay [Source: AFP]As the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association celebrated their 94th annual day on July 4, former Indian cricketer Murali Vijay was named the chief guest of the ceremony. As he attended the event, he surprisingly took a moment to acknowledge his “dear friend” and former acquaintance Dinesh Karthik live on stage. As Murali Vijay addressed the RCB mentor and coach, he made an emotional and surprising speech, which sent the internet into a frenzy, given the strained relationship between the two cricketers in the past.What Is The Strained Past Between Murali Vijay And Dinesh Karthik?For the unaware, once good friends Karthik and Murali had a personal controversy back in 2012, which involved Karthik's ex-wife, Nikita Vanjara. Karthik, who had been married to Nikita since 2007, got divorced in 2012, rooted in a connection with Murali. Vijay was found to be in an affair with Nikita, and the personal complications eventually led to Karthik and Vanjara divorcing each other. Soon after the divorce, Nikita married the ex-CSK star and became pregnant with his child, which apparently created a massive crack between Karthik and Vijay and their friendship. After the heartbreak, though, Dinesh Karthik moved on and later tied the knot with Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal in 2015. Also Read- "Zero Self Respect": Babar Azam Thrashed Online After Getting Pakistan Test CaptaincyWhat Vijay said during the TNCA event has now had cricket fans lose their minds, especially almost 14 years after the huge controversy that it caused.Murali Vijay Makes Surprising Praise For Dinesh KarthikOn the stage, while addressing some of the state cricket's achievements, Vijay suddenly moved on to talk about Karthik. While acknowledging him as one of Tamil Nadu's best cricketers, he also stressed the fact that he was such a good childhood friend of his, heaping praise on Karthik.“I got to talk about Dinesh Karthik. It might be little weird but from my childhood I am seeing him. One of the Tamil Nadu’s best cricketer, I think batsman, keeper ever and I am feeling. The dynamic personality, a dear friend but I enjoyed as a fan because at the non striker end played with him a lot. I have not seen anybody play like him. He is a fantastic cricketer, helped me a lot with his knowledge and I really want to thank him for that now,” Vijay said on stage.Karthik enjoyed a remarkable domestic career with Tamil Nadu, serving the state team with distinction across all three formats for over two decades. In First-Class cricket, he scored 9,620 runs in 167 matches at an average of 40.93, including 28 centuries and 43 fifties, with a highest score of 213. In List A cricket, he amassed 7,603 runs in 260 matches at an average of 40.01, registering 12 hundreds and 41 half-centuries. Karthik was equally impactful in T20 cricket, scoring 7,557 runs in 415 matches at a strike rate of 136.45, smashing 35 fifties. Dinesh Karthik And Vijay Kept Their Silence On The ControversyInterestingly, neither Karthik nor Vijay ever openly addressed the Nikita controversy and have successfully kept their silence since 2012. Despite the alleged betrayal from the friend, Karthik never issued any public statement regarding his ex-wife or Murali Vijay. Interestingly, the duo had to share a dressing room with each other after the controversy back in 2018 during a Test match against Afghanistan, but both kept a professional distance and no statements or remarks were made about each other during or, after that series.While the weird tribute from Vijay at the TNCA event grabbed massive eyeballs, Dinesh Karthik is yet to share any reply to the ex-cricketer on any social media or public address.Also Read- Prithvi Shaw's Fiancée Takes Drastic Step On Social Media; Creates Separation Rumours
