Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik opened up about his decision to retire after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He made a bold statement and said that he could have played for a few years but he didn’t want to leave with any guilty feeling. inside him.
One of the most reputed names in Indian cricket, Dinesh Karthik, announced his retirement from cricket after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He was arguably one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen to play for both India and the IPL. .
Dinesh Karthik, who has been playing since 2006, has seen Indian cricket and the IPL grow by leaps and bounds. The wicketkeeper-batsman during his career was sensational and if there has to be a name associated with him it would be “comeback man”.
One of the highlights of Dinesh Karthik was the amount of hard work he put in and it is fair to say that even during his career, he was one of the fittest to have played the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman made sure to end his career on a high.
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.
Talking about his career, Dinesh Karthik stated that he is still physically fit and could have played for three years but mentally he was not ready. The wicketkeeper-batsman stated that his mind did not allow him to play and he felt that it would be difficult for him to play matches. Speaking on Cricbuzz, he stated:
“I think I am physically very prepared to play another three years. Especially with the Impact Player rule, it becomes much easier. So in terms of playing the sport, I think I could have easily pushed for another cycle. I don’t have too many problems in my life. Knock on wood, I have never missed a game due to injury in my three decades. I have been blessed that way. I never worried about my body or my physical condition.
“It was all about the mental side of things, if I’ll be able to push myself that hard in the lead-up to the tournament, if I don’t play as many matches, I’ll be fine with that. I firmly believe in whatever I seek to do, I try to commit 100% and do everything I can to be the best at it. And I thought that from now on playing X amount of games was going to be difficult.”
Dinesh Karthik further stated that if he had played a few more seasons, he would have felt guilty because he would not have kept up with the benchmarks he has set in his career. He added:
“I pushed myself mentally for so long in terms of doing everything in the lead-up, even if I falter a little bit, I wouldn’t be… although from the outside people wouldn’t know it, but internally they would find it. very hard and I would be living with guilt. I do not want that.
“At the end of the day, it’s a professional sport and people pay you and expect a certain performance and that comes with responsibilities. I want to live up to those responsibilities internally based on all the benchmarks I’ve set. When I thought about that, I said, ‘No, I don’t think I’m going to do that.’ Also, I have a somewhat young family, so spending time with them [is important].”
It would have been a bit unfair to the team because they picked me for a certain price – Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik further added that if he had played, considering he would not have given his best, it might have been unfair to the team. He added that he realized that he could not play for India and all that made him accept the call. He added:
“Those are all small factors, and I think the most important one was whether I can do it for the next three years because even if I go into this cycle and play one year, I think it’s a little unfair to the team because they have chosen me for a price certain. If I don’t play the cycle or go into the tournament knowing I won’t finish the cycle, then it’s a little unfair to the team because they could have used that resource on a player they knew would be there. all three seasons.
“With all that in mind, I thought this was the time.” [to retire]. And most importantly, the fact that no matter what I do, I cannot play for India again was very evident. So that was the final nail in the coffin.” He concluded.