"Abhi leg spinner aaya, iska thank you hi hai" - Dinesh Karthik recalls Hardik Pandya's sledge against him
Team India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has opened up on the sledging he has endured throughout his career. The 38-year-old hilariously recalled how much star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has sledged him during the IPL matches.
Karthik, who retired from IPL after playing against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator of the 2024 edition, is the 2nd most-capped player in IPL history. The keeper-batter was also part of Mumbai Indians' squad when they won their first title win in 2013.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik remembered how Pandya thought leg spin was the way to dismiss him:
"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 legspinner 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."
The veteran also recalled Rohit Sharma's comments during IPL 2024 regarding World Cup:
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 this year taunting me... unnecessarily giving me hopes. [laughs]."
Despite expressing his desire to play in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the selectors didn't look towards him for the showpiece event. He was part of the India squad in the 2022 T20 World Cup that reached the semi-final.
"I've really enjoyed your commentary" - Dinesh Karthik recalls MS Dhoni's compliment
When asked about the best compliments he has received thus far, the Tamil Nadu-born cricketer named those from Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. He added:
"There's been a lot of outpouring of love... One for my cricket - Virat Kohli saying that he'd love me being part of the [RCB] team which was a great compliment. Dhoni said: 'I've really enjoyed your commentary, DK. Very, very good.' That's about as big a compliment as you can get from Dhoni I guess."
The veteran is one of the elite cricketers who will be in the commentary team for the T20 World Cup 2024.