Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik on Wednesday retired from the Indian Premier League after his team crashed out of the playoffs in the eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 39-year-old Karthik, who will go down as an RCB legend, got a guard of honour from his teammates as he led the players off the field after thanking the crowd for their continued support throughout the season.
A short clip of Karthik getting all the applause and love from RCB and its fans surfaced on social media right after post-match presentation ceremony.
Karthik also got a hug from former RCB skipper and cricket icon Virat Kohli after the match finished with the Rajasthan Royals winning by 6 wickets, while chasing 173 runs.
Not Ee Sala, 😢 pic.twitter.com/fzQkwnKpIM
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 22, 2024
Karthik’s perfect finish
DK, as he is popularly known all around the world, had a stellar season to finish off his legendary IPL career.
From #RCB to Dinesh Karthik ❤️ #TATAIPL | #RRvRCB | #TheFinalCall | #Eliminator | @RCBTweets | @DineshKarthik pic.twitter.com/p2XI7A1Ta6
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 22, 2024
He amassed 326 runs from 12 innings at an impressive average of over 36 and a strike rate of nearly 190. Karthik played some memorable knocks during the campaign, but his best came against Sunrisers Hyderabad when he smashed 83 off 35 balls, albeit in a losing cause.
An all-time IPL legend
In terms of his overall numbers, Karthik bows out as an all-time legend and as the 10th most successful batter in the league’s history with 4,842 runs.
He is the league’s second-best wicketkeeper behind MS Dhoni with 174 dismissals – 137 catches, 37 stumpings. Dhoni heads with 190 dismissals – 148 catches, 42 stumpings.
Unfortunately, sport is not a fairytale and our remarkable run in #IPL2024 came to an end. Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik express their emotions and thank fans for their unwavering support. ❤️#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/FYygVD3UiC
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 23, 2024
Karthik is the joint-second most capped player in IPL history with 257 T20s, along with Mumbai Indians legend Rohit Sharma. Dhoni, who is yet to announce his retirement from IPL, leads here as well with 264 matches, and still counting.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
