RCB head coach Andy Flower feels Dinesh Karthik will play a few more tournaments before finally calling it a day on his professional cricketing career. Notably, the wicketkeeper batter has been giving indications of his retirement after the end of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 having openly spoken about it on numerous occasions.
Hence, following RCB getting knocked out of the tournament after a four-wicket loss against RR during the Eliminator game on Wednesday, May 22, there have been widespread speculations of Karthik announcing his retirement soon. Speaking about the potential end of Karthik’s 20-year-old cricketing career, Flower hailed him for his sensational run during the tournament and mentioned numerous roles he could take up after his retirement.
However, the former Zimbabwe cricketer didn’t rule out the possibility of the wicketkeeper batter playing a few more tournaments before calling it a day.
“He hadn’t played a lot of cricket, leading into the tournament. What he has done for us — runs-wise, attitude-wise — has been really special. I respect him for that. He is going to be super successful in whatever he goes on to. He is a brilliant commentator already. He quite likes the idea of coaching as well — helping and working with other people which I am not surprised about. He will be a great success when he does that as well. I also think he might play a few more little tournaments along the way,” said Flower in the post-match press conference.
Flower also recalled his first meeting with the India cricketer and revealed how the duo immediately struck a chord with each other.
“He was an absolute pleasure to work with this year. I have never worked that closely with him before. I remember meeting him probably when I was England’s coach and he was playing for India at Lord’s. We had some really interesting chats about batting. I really liked him from the outset then. After working with him this season, I really like him more and respect him even more. He has been sensational,” he added.
Karthik’s phenomal run with the bat
Notably, Karthik had a brilliant season with the bat having amassed 326 runs from 13 innings at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 187.35 while notching up a couple of half-centuries. The 38-year-old played crucial innings of 53* (23) against MI and a breathtaking 83 (35) against SRH to help his side cut down on the loss margin which eventually helped them maintain a healthy net run rate.
Apart from his batting, the wicketkeeper also inflicted five dismissals during the season. Following the end of the game, the Chennai-born cricketer was seen emotionally walking off the field with his teammates giving him a guard of honour. However, Karthik is yet to make an official announcement of his retirement.
