In late 2006, India's ODI team began to hit rocky waters. After losing a bilateral series in the West Indies due to his poor performance , they were knocked out of a triangular tournament in Malaysia ahead of the finals, and were eliminated in the first round of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy on home soil. Kartik took four wickets at 34.00 and an economy rate of 5.36 in the Challenger Trophy and could not earn a recall. He had a steady domestic first-class season, taking 26 wickets at 25.53 in nine matches, never taking more than five wickets in a match. He took 13 wickets at 27.92 in eight one-day matches for the season, and was overlooked as Kumble and Harbhajan were the spinners selected for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. India were knocked out in the first round after losing to Bangladesh, and Harbhajan was dropped while Kumble retired from ODIs, but Kartik did not do enough to persuade the selectors to hand him a recall.