(Cricket News) Veteran Indian keeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik has called time to his playing career. Karthik announced his retirement today on his 39th birthday, bringing end to long career which went on for more than 20 years.
Karthik last featured for the Indian side at the 2022 T20 World Cup and was keen on representing the national side for one more time, probably his last at the T20 World Cup starting on the 2nd of June. However after failing to do so, he will now put forward his efforts somewhere else.
Karthik in his long international career played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is for India. He made his debut for the country in 2004 against England at Lord’s in the 50-over format. He presence in the international arena was largely overshadowed by the great MS Dhoni and hence he failed to get a lot of chances in his two-decade long international career.
In his 401 T20 appearances, Karthik ended with 7407 runs, including 34 half-centuries, at a strike-rate of nearly 137. In his 257-game IPL career, Karthik played for KKR, MI, Delhi Daredevils and Punjab Kings besides RCB, scoring a total of 4842 runs at an average of 26.32.
Karthik has been fantastic in his previous few IPL seasons with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He received a guard of honor by his IPL teammates post RCB’s loss in the Eliminator against the Rajasthan Royals making the retirement imminent.
“I’d like to thank all my coaches, captains, selectors, teammates and members of the support staff who have made his long journey pleasant and enjoyable. among the millions that play the sport in our country, I consider myself among the lucky few to have had the chance to represent the nation, and luckier still to have earned the goodwill of so many fans and friends.
“My parents have been my pillars of strength and support over all these years, and I wouldn’t be what I am without their blessings. I also owe plenty to Dipika, herself a professional sportsperson who often put her career on hold to walk my journey with me,” Karthik added in his retirement note. “Of course, to all the fans and followers of our great game, a massive thank you! Cricket and cricketers, wouldn’t be the same without your support and good wishes.
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