Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik made interesting revelations about some of his banter with his Indian teammates during the Indian Premier League (IPL). He revealed how Virat Kohli used to sack him and how Hardik Pandya sledged him without respect.
When Royal Challengers Bengaluru were eliminated from IPL 2024 after a loss to Rajasthan Royals in Eliminator, it marked the end of Dinesh Karthik’s glorious career in the league. The wicketkeeper-batsman played in all 17 editions of the league and was one of the best to have played the game.
Dinesh Karthik played incredible knocks for his franchises in the league and is among the most loved cricketers in the country. The wicketkeeper-batsman was mainly known for his calm and collected nature on the field and the ability of him to absorb all the pressure.
Over the years in the league, Dinesh Karthik engaged in some of the funniest pranks with some of his Indian teammates. While putting an end to his career, he decided to talk about some of it during his interaction with Cricbuzz on Wednesday (May 29).
Dinesh Karthik first, while talking about Virat Kohli, stated that whenever he played against RCB, the batsman always used to give him ‘Ben Stokes’ dismissal. The wicketkeeper-batsman then revealed how Hardik Pandya once took him sledging using leg-spin jibe and then also criticized him for his comment period. He stated:
“Every time I played against RCB and Virat Kohli took my catch, surely ‘Ben Stokes’ came out of his mouth. But that was a farewell. Hardik Pandya sledged me saying ‘Abhi legpinner aaya, iska thanks hi hai’ [Now a legspinner will come and it is Thank You time] Then I had to play a couple of shots and then he said, ‘Theek hai, thoda improvement hogaya lag raha hai.’
“[Looks like he’s improved a bit], That was good. He is a good friend. It was also like ‘Commentator banke bhi thoda kaam kar raha hai’. [Even after becoming a commentator, he’s working on his game] That was fun.”
“Rohit Sharma this year making fun of me…” Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik further revealed some of the more incidents, recalling how India captain Rohit Sharma mocked him for his World Cup berth. He added:
“Rohit Sharma this year made fun of me… giving me hope unnecessarily. [laughs] I’ve had mostly cheeky conversations… I think I once said to Maxwell, ‘They call it the Big Show but I think it’s going to be a short show, guys.’
Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024, Dinesh Karthik gave his best with the bat. The wicketkeeper-batsman played the role of finisher to perfection and scored 326 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 187.36. He was one of the main reasons for the team’s comeback in the league. Karthik will now join the commentary panel for the T20 World Cup 2024.