The scenes after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 4-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2024 Eliminator looked like a farewell to Dinesh Karthik. He led the group of players on its way to the dressing room, waving at the fans who were chanting ‘DK-DK’ in unison. There wasn’t any official statement from the franchise or the keeper-batter himself but the way he hugged Virat Kohli at the end of the game hinted at the emotional side of that moment, potentially marking the end of the journey of the 38-year-old.
But on Friday evening, RCB released a video in which Karthik could be seen speaking his heart out and touching upon various aspects of his illustrious career. He didn’t say it straight-forward but almost cleared the air on his IPL future.
“At times when you’re done, it will be a very emotional moment. Could very well be that it’s my last practice session. I don’t know. But all I can say is it’s been a journey that’s been filled with a lot of happy memories, some sad ones, as it should be. And it’s helped me become the person that I am and a very grateful one. Just the fact that it’s lasted however long it’s lasted, I can definitely say that I’ve given it my all, and that’s what I feel,” Karthik said in the video.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter thanked RCB for giving him a chance that helped him revive his international career. Back in 2021, he was picked by the Bengaluru-based franchise for INR 5.5 crore and after IPL 2022, he returned to Team India for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Karthik also reserved massive praise for Virat Kohli and thanked him for being around when he rose again to play for the country.
“I’m a big fan of his to know that he respects me and values me as a person. I think I’ll take that as a massive, massive success in my cricketing journey. Just want to thank people like him who have been there during my journey and I will do anything I can for RCB whenever possible. I mean, the fact that they’ve given me a new lease of life and I’ve played for them towards the fag end of my career is one that I’ll never forget,” Karthik added.
Karthik has represented six franchises in the IPL and has 4842 runs, 22 half-centuries, 145 catches and 37 stumpings to his credit.
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