Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli expressed his gratitude to Dinesh Karthik for motivating him when he was low on confidence during the IPL 2022. Virat Kohli recalled his happy times with Dinesh Karthik both at the international and franchise level. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli recalled teammate Dinesh Karthik helping him with an honest conversation during a torrid IPL 2022 campaign. Karthik played his final IPL game when RCB were knocked out of IPL 2024 by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator.
Dinesh Karthik, 38, had announced ahead of the season that he would bid farewell to the IPL after the 2024 edition. Kohli and other RCB players paid tribute to Karthik with a guard of honor after the RR clash. Dinesh Karthik recently bowed out of the Indian Premier League (IPL), silently, after a decent run for RCB where he scored 326 runs from 15 games at an average of 36.22 with 2 half-centuries and a top score of 83. Although he is yet to make an official announcement, it’s understood that he would not be making a return to the IPL.
Virat Kohli thanks Dinesh Karthik for his contribution to the team
Kohli, in the meantime, talked about his first impression of Dinesh Karthik when the duo first played together for India in the 2009 Champions Trophy on South African soil. The former RCB skipper said that Dinesh Karthik grew wiser and calmer as his career progressed.
“First time I met DK, I remember we were playing in South Africa if I am not wrong in the Champions Trophy 2009. It was the first time I shared the change-room with Dinesh and I found him to be very amusing, I would say hyper-active, confused person, most of the times he was moving all over the place, never stopping. That was my first impression of Dinesh” Kohli said in a video on RCB’s social media.
“Outstanding talent, brilliant batter to watch and my first impression and present day impression are not far apart. Just that he has become wiser and calmed down a lot.”
Virat Kohli said that Dinesh Karthik motivated him during the lean patch in his career to come out and perform.
Virat Kohli thanks Dinesh Karthik for motivating him during IPL 2022.
Kohli also went down the memory lane to IPL 2022 when he was struggling for runs. He bagged 3 ducks and scored only 341 runs from 16 matches with 2 half-centuries and a strike-rate of 115.98. The 35-year-old said that during the tough times, Dinesh Karthik sat down with him and boosted his confidence.
“Off the field, I have had some really nice and interesting conversations with him. He is wise man, has great knowledge about a lot of things, not just cricket. I have thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with him. Even in that phase in 2022 when I did not have a great IPL season, I was really struggling for confidence, he sat me down a couple of times and gave me a very honest explanation of how he is seeing things and maybe I am not able to see them myself,” Kohli said.
So, I just like his honesty and courage to go and speak to anyone about things that he dearly feels about. And that I think is the most special thing for me when it comes to Dinesh and that’s one thing I have always cherished about him. That’s why we get along really really well,” Kohli added.
Apart from being a crucial part of the RCB setup in the last couple of seasons, Dinesh Karthik also had a decent time while donning the Indian jersey. Although he was never a regular in the national setup, his career lasted 20 long years where he played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is.
Dinesh Karthik played 180 games for India across all formats and scored over 3,000 runs with a century and 17 half-centuries. The 38-year-old Dinesh Karthik also enjoyed a tremendous farewell season in the IPL this year, scoring 326 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 187.35 in 15 outings.