look news india
New Delhi, March 7 (HS). Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik is set to play his last Indian Premier League (IPL) season this year when he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the next two months.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Karthik, who will turn 39 in June, will also take a final decision on his international future soon.
Karthik, who started his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), is part of a select group of seven players (MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey) who played in the IPL in 2008. Has participated in every season of IPL since the BCCI started the tournament. What is perhaps more impressive is that Karthik has missed just two matches in 16 seasons. The first was against Kolkata Knight Riders in his debut season and the second was in 2023 when Karthik sat out the league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Karthik performed poorly with the bat in the 2023 IPL, scoring only 140 runs overall at an average of just over 11.
However, 2022 was his best season, the year Royal Challengers bought Karthik in the auction for Rs 5.5 crore. During that time, he scored 330 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55 and an explosive strike-rate of 183.33, playing mainly the role of a finisher. Karthik played a key role in helping Royal Challengers reach the playoffs that season, before being eliminated in the second qualifier.
The excellent IPL form has earned Karthik a place in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. However, he could only score 14 runs in three innings as India lost to England in the semi-finals.
The current stint with the Royal Challengers is Karthik's second, having previously played a single season with them in 2015. Overall, Karthik has represented six IPL teams, including Daredevils (2008–14), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings – 2011), Mumbai Indians (2012–13), Gujarat Lions (2016–17), Knight Riders (2018–21) and Royal Challengers (2015, 2022–present). Overall, in 240 matches, Karthik has scored 4516 runs at an average of around 26 and a strike rate of 132, which includes 20 half-centuries. As a keeper, Karthik is second only to Dhoni in total dismissals (133) as well as stumpings (36).
Tamil Nadu captain, Karthik has also led teams in the IPL, serving as stand-in captain for the Daredevils on six occasions and the Knight Riders in 37 matches between 2018-20. Overall, as captain, he has won 21 matches, while he has lost the same number of matches and one match has been tied.
Even though he is getting ready to say goodbye to cricket as a player, Karthik has already settled on a second career. In 2021, Karthik also dipped his toe into simulcasting, working as an analyst for the inaugural World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand and then The Hundred. Karthik is now well established as a broadcaster and is currently commentating on the India-England Test series.
The Royal Challengers team will play the first match of the tournament against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at their home ground in Chepauk on March 23.
