Bengaluru: Indian batsman Virat Kohli described Dinesh Karthik, who retired after the end of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, as a wise and honest person and said that the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman boosted his morale in the 2022 season when he was struggling to find form.
Karthik played his last IPL match on Wednesday in which RCB lost to Rajasthan Royals in the playoffs and were knocked out of the tournament. Kohli said in a video posted by RCB, “I have had some really good and interesting conversations with him off the field. He is a very intelligent person and has a lot of knowledge about a lot of things, not just cricket.”
The nearly 11-minute-long video features farewell messages from Karthik’s wife Dipika Pallikal Karthik, his personal mentor Abhishek Nayar, RCB assistant coach Malolan Rangarajan and fitness coach Shankar Basu.
Kohli recalled the 2022 season in which he scored 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of just 22.73 after RCB missed out on a place in the final after losing to Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier.
Kohli said, “I have always enjoyed talking to him. Even in 2022, at that stage when my IPL season was not so good, my confidence was also shaken.” He said, “He sat down with me for a talk two or three times and honestly told me how he saw things because maybe I myself was not able to see these things well.”
IPL veteran Karthik has played in all the editions of IPL since its inaugural 2008 season, representing six franchises. He scored 4,842 runs in 257 matches with 22 half-centuries. Kohli said, “I like his honesty and courage, he can talk to anyone about what he feels. I think this thing about Dinesh is very special to me. I like this thing about him a lot, so we have a great rapport with each other. ”
He said that Karthik is a technically very correct player. He said, “I think he is such a correct player in terms of technique and he can adapt to any role. I remember the 2013 season in which he scored nearly 600 runs while batting at number three. ”
Kohli said, “I saw him play shots that were ‘fantastic’. I wish him all the best for the future.” He also expressed hope that Karthik will remain associated with the RCB franchise in some way or the other.