Royal Challengers Bangalore announced on Monday that Dinesh Karthik, the former India wicketkeeper, began his stint at the franchise as the team's new batting coach and mentor.
Dinesh Karthik first appeared for RCB in 2015 and 2016, then made a second spell for the club from 2022 to 2024. As a batter, he performed well in the 2024 season, attaining 326 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 187.36.
He expressed his excitement at the new role by saying, "Coaching at a professional level is a thrilling opportunity for me, and being there is an exciting new chapter in my career. Drawing from the abundant experience gained as a player, I aim to contribute to the team's growth and add significant value."
He said that technical skills alone would not suffice to succeed in cricket; it also required match intelligence and composure. "I look forward to continuing my association with RCB, having started an upward trend last season. A franchise that values and respects its players, I am looking forward to guiding and mentoring our batting unit, helping them refine their techniques and develop the tactical awareness needed to excel in pressure situations," he added.
While Karthik recently retired from all forms of cricket post IPL 2024, he has already boasted an illustrious IPL career with a total of 257 matches to his name in which he has scored 4842 runs, including 22 half-centuries.
The veteran 39-year-old, who had started his ODI career in 2004 for India at the age of just 19 years, had gathered more than two decades of batting experience. With 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is on his record, he is going to bring that much-needed maturity into the batting lineup of Team India.
Karthik was part of the Indian winning team in the inaugural T20 World Cup held in 2007. He has played each IPL edition till retirement.
Mo Bobat, RCB's Director of Cricket, responded to Karthik's appointment as "DK is a great addition to our coaching setup. He was exhilarating in the field of play; I have no doubt he will bring a similar level of impact as a coach. He has had a long career as a player which showed his skill, professional hunger, and certainly those qualities he will bring into this new role."
He has also pointed out the invaluable experience gained by Karthik while playing international cricket and in the IPL, which would be immensely helpful to players of RCB. "DK's mindset under pressure and his relentless pursuit of improvement as a player are qualities we look forward to him instilling in our squad, particularly our batsmen."
Looking ahead to the exciting times, Bobat said, "We are thrilled to continue to have DK on board and leverage his experience of knowing what it means to play for RCB and our passionate fans."
Other than RCB, Karthik has featured for Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, and Punjab Kings in the IPL.
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