Dinesh Karthik Recalls On-Field Banter with India Teammates

Dinesh Karthik, the former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) exit from IPL 2024. As he reflects on his illustrious career, Karthik has shared some amusing anecdotes involving on-field banter with his India teammates during his IPL days.

One of the most memorable exchanges occurred with Virat Kohli, the former RCB captain. "Every time I played against RCB and Virat caught my catch, 'Ben Stokes' came out of his mouth for sure," Karthik recalled in an interview with Cricbuzz. "But that was a send-off."

Karthik also revealed a sledging incident with Hardik Pandya, the current Mumbai Indians skipper. "Hardik Pandya sledged me saying 'abhi legspinner aaya, iska thank you hi hai' (a legspinner will come and it is Thank You time]. Then I had to play a couple of shots and then he was like 'theek hai, thoda improve hogaya lag raha hai' (okay, looks like he has improved a little]. That was good. He's a good friend. He 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."

Karthik, who played 257 IPL matches and 60 T20Is, also mentioned a playful comment from Rohit Sharma, the former Mumbai Indians captain. "Rohit this year taunting me... unnecessarily giving me hopes," he said, referring to Sharma's "isko World Cup khelna hai" (he wants to play in the World Cup) remark.

Besides his IPL career, Karthik represented India in 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is. He is also known for his insightful commentary, which has added a new dimension to his cricketing journey.

Tags: #DineshKarthik, #Retirement, #IPL, #RCB, #ViratKohli