He made his first-class debut against the Sanjay Manjrekar led Mumbai cricket team at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Solapur, which was drawn in the 1994–95 Ranji Trophy.
[2][3] His highest score of 290* was against Bihar in the 2002-03 Ranji season in Tata Digwadih Stadium, where Indian would-be captain MS Dhoni was the wicket-keeper.
[9] He is best remembered for hitting a four when India required 3 runs to win from 2 balls in the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup final at Dhaka, against Pakistan.
In 2011, Kanitkar was appointed as an assistant coach of Kochi Tuskers Kerala but walked out of the contract even before the IPL season began.
Kanitkar was named as head coach of the Goa cricket team for 2015–16 Ranji Trophy season with a one-year contract.