Dinesh Karthik Bids Farewell to IPL Career
Dinesh Karthik has officially retired from his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. The 38-year-old cricketer, who joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2022 for his second stint after 2015, played his final IPL match when Rajasthan Royals eliminated RCB in the playoffs. Reflecting on the night of his last game, Karthik shared his thoughts in an interview with Cricbuzz.
Mixed Emotions on the Final Game
Karthik admitted to feeling a mix of emotions, from relief to a touch of sadness, as he approached each “last” moment during the season. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. There’s lots happening in the house, there’s a couple of weddings and all so I’ve been pretty busy with that. Other than that, it’s okay,” Karthik said. He described the surreal experience of preparing for his final moments on the field, mentally acknowledging each practice and game as potentially his last. “Even though you planned for it a lot, still there are a few feelings that come. It’s a tad bit emotional, a tad bit relief. I was just thinking I have to catch a flight, probably this is [the last time]. In the lead up to that, because I was kind of preparing myself like ‘oh maybe this is the last practice session’, ‘oh this is the last time I am going to practice wicket-keeping’, ‘oh this is the last time I am playing at this ground.’ So these sort of moments just kept playing in my mind a lot. In a way I was mentally prepared for whenever it had to happen. But I was so much more prepared for 18th May [last league game vs CSK]. Once that part of the tournament was crossed, I was extremely elated and very, very happy and grateful. The 22nd [Eliminator vs RR] came around pretty fast, but overall it was a mixed feeling of relief, emotion and the fact that it has all come to an end,” he recounted.
A Stalwart of the IPL
Karthik, a veteran of the IPL, has participated in every edition since the league’s inception in 2008, representing six different franchises and leading KKR to the playoffs in 2018. He amassed 4,842 runs in 257 matches, with 22 fifties.
Physical Fitness vs. Mental Readiness
When asked if he considered continuing, especially with the IPL’s Impact Player rule and seeing contemporaries like MS Dhoni playing into their 40s, Karthik mentioned that physical fitness was not an issue for him. “I think I am physically very much prepared to play for another three years. Especially with the Impact Player rule, it becomes that much easier. So in terms of playing the sport, easily I think I could’ve pushed for another cycle. I don’t have too many issues in my life. Touch wood, I have never missed a game because of an injury through my three decades. I’ve been blessed that way. I was never worried about my body or my fitness. It was all about the mental side of things, whether I’ll be able to push as much in the lead-up to the tournament, whether if I don’t play as many matches, will I be okay with it. I am a big believer of whatever I look to do, I try to give it 100% commitment and do whatever I can to be the best in that. And I thought from hereon for me to play X amount of matches is going to be hard,” he explained.
Mental Challenges and Professional Integrity
Karthik further elaborated on the mental challenges and the commitment required for professional sport. “Mentally pushing myself for so long in terms of doing everything in the lead-up, even if I falter a little bit I wouldn’t be… even though from the outside people wouldn’t know, but internally I would find it very hard and I would be living with guilt. I don’t want that. At the end of the day, it is a professional sport and people are paying you and they expect a certain performance and that comes with responsibilities. I want to live up to those responsibilities internally to all the benchmarks that I have set. When I thought about that, I said, ‘No I don’t think I’ll be doing that.’ Add to the fact that I have a little bit of a young family, so spending time with them [is important],” he said.
Fairness to the Team and Future Plans
Karthik also acknowledged the fairness to the team as a factor in his decision. “Those are all small factors, and I think the big one was whether I can do it for the next three years, because even if I go into this cycle and I play one year, I think it is a tad bit unfair on the team because they’ve picked me at a certain price point. If I don’t play the cycle or I walk into the tournament knowing that I won’t finish the cycle, then it is a little bit unfair on the team because they could have used that resource on a player they know would be there for all three seasons. Taking all that into account, I thought this is the time [to retire]. And most importantly, the fact that no matter what I do, I cannot play for India again was very evident. So it was the last nail in the coffin,” he concluded.(Dubai7 realmoneygame)