When Kwena met Karthik, and the generational baton changed hands

Dinesh Karthik has played 401 T20s. Kwena Maphaka? Twenty-three. When Karthik featured in the first of those games, for India against South Africa at the Wanderers in December 2006, Maphaka was not quite eight months old.

Yet there they sat at the same table on Thursday, wearing identical team shirts and taking questions at a joint press conference.

At 39, Karthik is a rare Indian signing in a non-IPL franchise tournament. At 18, Maphaka is hoping for four distinctions in his final high school examinations.

Both could be on the field, for Paarl Royals against Mumbai Indians Cape Town at Newlands on Monday, when the results are announced.

Who knew real life and the SA20 could collide so meaningfully?

Karthik and Maphaka met at breakfast on Thursday, but they already knew who they were dealing with.

"Kwena is one of those bona fide superstars," Karthik said. "I watched him bowl in the under-19 World Cup. It almost felt like when you play against South Africa, that you need to get past that first spell.

"That's a feeling not many bowlers can give. I understand it was at under-19 level, but the mindset for a lot of the teams who played against him was, 'Let's get through his spell and then things will change.'

"So 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.

"At just 18 years old, he's already been picked up in the premier tournament in the world, the IPL. Not too many 18-year-olds get picked up there."

Maphaka took 21 wickets at 9.71 in six games in last year's under-19 World Cup in January and February in South Africa, which earned him the player-of-the-tournament award. He made his senior international debuts in all three formats in the space of 22 days in December and January.

During last year's IPL, Mumbai Indians signed Maphaka, then still 17, as a replacement after Dilshan Madushanka injured a hamstring. Maphaka went for 0/66 in four overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad - then the third-most-expensive figures in IPL history - in his first match. In his second game, against Rajasthan Royals five days later, he conceded 23 runs in two overs but also dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The latter event seems to have made the biggest impact: Rajasthan signed Maphaka for USD170,000 at the auction for this year's tournament.

"He's a special player," Karthik said. "You can see that in the way he bowls. He's got the skill sets to be the superstar that I expect him to be. South Africa have 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. So, how he takes care of his body is important. But, mentally, every time he gets on the park, it should be about doing everything possible to win the game for the team.

"So far, I must admit, he's taken care of himself well. Wherever he's played, he's made a difference in that team."

It's one thing for your headmaster to extoll your latest cricket feats at school assembly, quite another to have one of the most recognisable players in the game do so as your teammate.

While Karthik was talking about Maphaka in those glowing terms - gently slapping the teenager's quad in brotherly fashion to emphasise his points - Maphaka stared forward trying not to look embarrassed.

"I think it's about watching my bowling loads and making sure that I'm stretching, and making sure that I'm keeping my body in tip-top shape," Maphaka said. "There's not much off-season for me at this point, so it's about making sure that I'm managing myself and keeping myself as healthy as possible. So that I can keep the pace I've got for as long as possible."

Maphaka's body is his own business. But, considering how many major players he is mixing with in the South Africa, SA20 and IPL dressingrooms, he is likely flooded with information. Much of it will be valuable. But, as a mere human, he won't be able to absorb all of it. How does he know what to keep close?

"My main thing is to keep being myself and to focus on myself," Maphaka said. "So I'll try to take other players' experiences and implement them into my game rather than trying to be them. Everyone's a different player - I'm not like DK; DK's not like me.

"So I'll take the experiences DK's learnt and I'll try to implement them into my career rather than me trying to force myself to be a DK, because that's not me.

"It's been a really good summer, and really special for me. It's crazy to see how quickly things have moved and how quickly my life has changed. But I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground and continue being the player I am; keep learning and keep striving for success."

The moment wasn't lost on Karthik: "They're two ends of the spectrum, aren't they? He's just starting his career and I'm near the end of mine. Now my role is to make sure I'm there for the tough moments when the game is on the line, and that I'm doing something special to help the team. I really wish that this experience and this youthful exuberance meet somewhere in the middle and something special is created."

It's difficult to imagine someone better equipped or more willing to pass the baton to cricket's next generation. Did Karthik see that as a responsibility, or did he welcome doing so?

"Knowledge learnt is one side of it, but knowledge shared is a lot more fruitful," Karthik said. "Whenever a youngster comes and speaks to me about the game, I'm happy to share my experiences. That is the least I could do.

"I've been picked to play here not only to showcase my skills as a batter or a keeper, but also to help in the growth of young South African players to become the best version of themselves.

"It's very easy to keep giving advice, and it can get a bit much. So one of Kwena's biggest challenges will be to understand that, while a lot of the information is out there, he needs to use it in the way he wants to.

"Be very authentic with that information. Everybody's journey is different. You can hear the experiences, but then you do it your way. That's when you'll grow as a person. I don't believe in constantly giving advice or being condescending. Try and be more like a friend; someone you not only sit and have serious conversations with, but also have fun with. That's when the trust builds."

For now, Maphaka is trying to keep a grip on a life that is hurtling ever onward and upward.

"It's been a really busy 12 to 14 months," he said. "I try to take a step back and look at what I've done and what's been happening. But it does get difficult.

"You're on tour, and you can't really take a step back. Then you're onto the next tour, and you can't take a step back. I think probably the only time I'm going to be able to really take a step back and look at what I've done is at the end of my career."

Karthik was 20 when he appeared in that T20I at the Wanderers in 2006. Bar MS Dhoni, all of the other 21 players in the match have retired. One of them, Graeme Smith, is the SA20 league commissioner.

Twenty years from now, a relatively venerable Maphaka might find himself at a press conference with the next "bona fide superstar". If he handles the moment as superbly as Karthik did on Friday, he will have done well. Who knew cricket and authenticity could collide so seamlessly?