Dinesh Karthik, an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore for the next two months in what will be his final IPL season. According to information obtained by ESPNcricinfo, Karthik, who turns 39 in June, will shortly decide on his future on the international scene.
Along with MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, and Manish Pandey, Karthik is one of only seven players to have appeared in every IPL season since the BCCI began the competition in 2008. Karthik began his IPL career at Delhi Daredevils, which is now known as the Delhi Capitals. Even more astonishing, Karthik has only missed two games in 16 seasons.
The first was against the Kolkata Knight Riders during his first season, while the second came in 2023 when Karthik skipped the league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Karthik had a dismal 2023 Indian Premier League season at bat, amassing just 140 runs at an average of just over 11. It was a far cry from the incredible season he had in 2022, the year Royal Challengers paid INR 5.5 crore (about US$ 662,000) to get Karthik in the auction. Karthik, who was primarily used as a finisher and had worked hard to develop his power hitting throughout the preseason, amassed 330 runs at an average of 55 and an astounding strike-rate of 183.33 in 16 games. Karthik was a major factor in the Royal Challengers’ success that season, as they advanced to the play-offs before losing in the second qualifying round.
Karthik’s incredible IPL performance won him a spot in the Australia 2022 T20 World Cup. But in three innings, he could muster only 14 runs as India fell to eventual champions England in the semi-finals.
Karthik is in his second season as a player with the Royal Challengers, having previously participated in one in 2015. Karthik has played for six different IPL teams in total: Daredevils (2008–14), Mumbai Indians (2012–13), Gujarat Lions (2016–17), Knight Riders (2018–21), and Royal Challengers (2015, 2022–present). Karthik has amassed 4516 runs at an average of almost 26 in 240 matches overall, hitting at over 132 with 20 half centuries. Karthik is ranked second on the list behind Dhoni in terms of both stumpings (36) and total dismissals (133) as a keeper.
In addition to being a seasoned captain for Tamil Nadu, Karthik has captained the Knight Riders for 37 games between 2018 and 20 until he resigned, and he has captained the Daredevils on six more occasions. His record as captain is as follows: 21 victories, 21 defeats, and one match ended in a tie.
Karthik has already adapted to what is thought of as a second job even as he prepares to bid cricket adieu as a player. Karthik kept playing in 2021, but he also gained experience in broadcasting by commentating on the first World Test Championship match between India and New Zealand and the Hundred. As a seasoned broadcaster, Karthik is now providing commentary for the India-England Test series.
On March 23, at his home field in Chepauk, Royal Challengers will play the opening match of the tournament against the reigning champion Chennai Super Kings.
