• Sportzyverse
• Cricket news, IPL 2024
• 03/07/2024
• 0 Comments

The RCB wicket-keeper batter, and former Indian player Dinesh Karthik is all set to announce his retirement from the IPL post the 2024 season of the tournament.

According to ESPNcricinfo reports, the player, who turns 39 in June, is also set to make a final decision about his international career.

Karthik: the man of all seasons in IPL

Dinesh Karthik made his IPL debut way back in 2008. And is one of the only seven players in the tournament to have featured in every season since. He started his career with the Delhi franchise. He went on to play for 6 teams in total: 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).

Karthik is also one of the most capped players in the tournament’s history. In fact, over the last 16 seasons, he has failed to feature in just 2 games. The first time he failed to make it to the playing 11 was in the inaugural season and the second time it happened in the latest season of 2023.

Success with KKR and RCB

The Indian stalwart has also had some success as captain in the tournament. During his reign at KKR in 2018, the team reached the qualifiers. However, after a few more mediocre seasons, the team released him in 2022.

That is when RCB decided to rope him in once again, and his presence paid dividends. Karthik, in that season, made 330 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55 and an explosive strike rate of 183.33 that year, a guiding force in RCB’s march to the play-offs.

Having fallen out of favour with the international team, this performance also brought him back in the blues ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. However, he failed to deliver on the international stage, as the Indian team bowed out in the tournament’s semi-final stage.

In the IPL, Karthik has played a total of 242 games and scored 4516 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 132. Even if 2024 turns out to be his final season, the player will be expected to give his all to the RCB side and perhaps help them win their first title.