India and RCB wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik revealed how MI captain Hardik Pandya sledged him hinting at his retirement, when the two sides met during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. In a recent conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik reflected on the numerous types of sledging he has received over his significantly long cricketing career, which also includes ones by the likes of Hardik and Virat Kohli. With RCB’s impressive IPL 2024 season coming to an end after RR ended their 6-match winning streak during the Eliminator, many have speculated and sent in wishes to Karthik, considering it his last match as a professional cricketer.
Karthik’s brilliant IPL career has seen him play for as many as six teams in the IPL, with close to 5000 runs over 17 seasons, which also includes 145 catches and 37 stumpings. Karthik is also the joint second-most capped player in the competition with his 257 appearances, alongside Rohit Sharma and only behind CSK’s MS Dhoni and his 264. Even in IPL 2024, Karthik played a crucial role in the RCB batting order and their late revival in the competition with his 326 runs in his 15 matches. His stint this season also included a brilliant knock of 83 runs in just 35 balls during RCB’s home fixture against a fiery SRH.
In the conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik reflected on the times he was sledged by Hardik, and even Kohli, while shedding a light on his career.
“Every time I played against RCB and Virat Kohli caught my catch, ‘Ben Stokes’ came out of his mouth for sure. But that was a send-off. Hardik Pandya sledged me saying ‘Abhi leg-spinner aaya, iska thank you hi hai’ [Now a leg spinner 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’. [Looks like he’s improved a bit]. That was good,” Dinesh said.
“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. Rohit Sharma was also taunting me this year… unnecessarily giving me hopes,” Karthik added.
With his time as a professional having seemingly come to an end, Karthik might look to explore his avenues as a commentator and was recently added to the commentary panel for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
