Virat Kohli has conveyed his deep appreciation to his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) colleague Dinesh Karthik for providing support during a challenging period of low confidence.
The illustrious career of veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik came to a close as RCB was eliminated from IPL 2024. RCB suffered a four-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator at Ahmedabad earlier this week. Karthik has proudly represented India in 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is since making his international debut in 2004.
What Kohli said on Karthik
“Off the field, I have had some really nice and interesting conversations with Karthik. He is a wise man and has great knowledge about a lot of things, not just cricket. I have thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with him. Even in that phase in 2022 when I did not have a great IPL season, I was really struggling for confidence. Karthik sat me down a couple of times and gave me a very honest explanation of how he is seeing things and maybe I am not able to see them myself,” Kohli expressed in a tribute video posted by the RCB on Friday.
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“So, I just like his honesty and courage to go and speak to anyone about things that he feels dearly about. And that I think is the most special thing for me when it comes to Karthik and that’s one thing I have always cherished about him. That’s why we get along really, really well,” added Kohli.
Kohli also fondly remembered his initial encounter with Karthik during their time in the national team setup saying: “The first time I met DK, I remember we were playing in South Africa if I am not wrong in the Champions Trophy 2009. It was the first time I shared the changeroom with Dinesh and I found him to be very amusing, I would say hyperactive, confused person, most of the time he was moving all over the place, never stopping.”
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“That was my first impression of Dinesh. Outstanding talent, brilliant batter to watch and my first impression and present-day impression are not far apart. Just that he has become wiser and calmed down a lot.”
“I always looked at Dinesh and felt like he was such a correct player technically that he could adapt to any kind of role that’s been given to him, and I remember watching him in the 2013 season where he got 600 runs or something and he batted brilliantly at three. I saw him play shots which were like ‘wow’. I think he’s done brilliantly to switch and become a renowned finisher. I wish him all the best for all his future endeavours moving forward because his expertise in cricket is priceless. I think he’s of great value to this franchise,” he concluded.
