Refusing to cry, Dinesh Karthik announces his IPL retirement: It hit the Royal Challengers Bengaluru players moments after yet another year that seemed so close yet so far away. Their beloved’s illustrious run in the league came to an end after they were eliminated from the IPL 2024 after losing the Eliminator to the Rajasthan Royals. Dinesh Karthik’s final game as an RCB player on the cricket field was this one. Or for that matter, any franchise. Although DK didn’t issue an official statement, it was clear from the post-match circumstances what happened. From the IPL, Karthik had retired.
The RR players shook hands more firmly. He received hugs from Kumar Sangakkara and Dhurv Jurel that were more intense than normal. There seemed to be an endless walk to the changing room. At Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, DK experienced a moment of time travel. However, the camaraderie and kindness of his rivals and teammates didn’t. They went on as he moved slowly in the direction of the border.
Former India captain and RCB icon Virat Kohli approached Karthik and gave him an embrace. Karthik possesses strength. He battled with all his might while attempting to contain his tears. The background score was perfectly conveyed by the “DK, DK” cries. It was encouraging to watch the RCB players follow him off the field.
When Karthik removed his gloves, he acknowledged the cheering supporters. It was fitting that he waved to the crowd with his mitts on instead of his bat in his final wave. Throughout his career, he was always correct as a keeper, even if he had exceptional results as a batter. Karthik was a true team player who earned all of the praise he was receiving.
What, he couldn’t put an end to RCB’s protracted trophy drought in the IPL? Few people have been able to instill faith in the franchise and its supporters like he did in the last three seasons.
Dinesh Karthik’s best IPL years were those, in many ways. After being dismissed by the Kolkata Knight Riders, he remade himself as a finisher at the age of 35, surprising many by being a match-winner. His IPL 2022 achievements (330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33) were so significant that they earned him a spot back in the Indian T20I team.
For Karthik, it was his second spell with RCB. After being chosen for ₹10.5 crore at the auction, he performed in 2015. but only managed to score 141 runs in 16 games during a terrible run at the bat. For this Tamil Nadu guy, giving up is never an option. He continued to return in one form or another, becoming one of just seven cricket players to appear in every Indian Premier League game since the league’s founding in 2008.
With 22 fifty-score innings and 4,842 runs in 257 matches—a joint second-high total with Rohit Sharma—Karthik concluded his IPL career.
Over the course of his spectacular 17-year IPL career, Karthik played for six different teams in the lucrative competition. He debuted with the Delhi Daredevils (now the Delhi Capitals) in the 2008 inaugural season. After moving to Punjab in 2011, he played for the RCB, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
He scored 326 runs in 15 games with an average of 36.22 and a strike percentage of 187.36 at the end of the current season.
