Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged Dinesh Karthik to continue playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He also claimed that RCB will not retain Faf du Plessis ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
While the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has not formally announced his retirement, the scenes at the end of the Play-Off between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals indicated that his playing days in the IPL have come to an end.
After RCB suffered a four-wicket loss to withdraw from IPL 2024, Dinesh Karthik received a guard of honor from his teammates and also looked emotional while walking off the field. He even greeted the fans after the loss, hinting that he had decided to bring down the curtain on his long IPL career.
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And while Karthik might have made a decision on his retirement, Michael Vaughan is hopeful that the veteran player will continue plying his trade in the IPL. Speaking to Cricbuzz, the former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Karthik has been playing quite well and should continue to do so.
Vaughan also hinted that RCB might decide to release Faf du Plessis after he failed to end his long wait for an IPL trophy. The former cricketer expressed surprise over the fact that RCB has not been able to win the IPL even once so far and said that the bowlers have always let them down.
“Dinesh Karthik… is this the last time we will see him? I hope he continues. I will advise him to continue playing. He is playing quite well.” Vaughan said.
“Faf du Plessis… was the last time we saw him play for RCB? A lot of these players have been together for a long time, but for the franchise to never win the IPL is absolutely astonishing. The amount of money they have spent , the amount of hitting power… have always been let down by pitchers,” he added.
Dinesh Karthik in IPL 2024:
Dinesh Karthik had an excellent performance in IPL 2024. The right-handed batsman played several impactful knocks for his team to prove his worth. In 15 matches, he scored 326 runs with the help of two half-centuries. Karthik scored his runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of almost 190.
Karthik has been playing in the IPL since the inaugural season and is one of the most decorated batsmen in the history of the league. He ranks 10th in the list of most runs scored by a player in the IPL. Karthik has scored 4842 runs in 257 games so far.