[Watch] Dinesh Karthik reunites with former KKR’s teammates ahead of IPL 2023 game between KKR and RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently met his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammates and support staff at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.
In a video uploaded to Instagram by KKR, the wicketkeeper-batter can be seen hugging the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Venkatesh Iyer, among others. He also interacted with the support staff and other players.
KKR captioned the post:
“[Hello] there, old friend.”
For the uninitiated, Dinesh Karthik represented the Knight Riders from 2018 to 2021 before he was not retained ahead of the 2022 edition of the cash-rich league.
The 37-year-old cricketer also led them in 37 games, winning 19 at a win percentage of 52.7. He emerged as the second-best successful skipper for the franchise after Gautam Gambhir, who led them to their two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
Since Karthik’s captaincy exit midway through IPL 2020, KKR have made three captaincy changes in the form of Eoin Morgan (2020-2021), Shreyas Iyer (2022) and currently Nitish Rana (forced change for IPL 2023 due to Iyer’s injury).
Dinesh Karthik to play his first game at Eden Gardens after joining RCB
Dinesh Karthik will play his first game at Eden Gardens as an away team player after joining RCB as IPL 2023 returns with a home-and-away game format after three years following the COVID-19 era.
Karthik was bought by RCB for ₹5.5 crore during the IPL 2022 mega auction. The right-handed batter was retained by the Bengaluru-based franchise for the same price in IPL 2023 following his exploits with the bat last season.
He amassed 330 runs in 16 games at an astronomical strike rate of 183.33 as RCB reached the playoffs last year.
Karthik, however, departed for a duck in RCB’s IPL 2023 opener against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI). The Bengaluru-based franchise, though, won the game by eight wickets.
The Tamil Nadu-born batter loves playing at Eden Gardens, where he has amassed 621 runs in 25 innings at a strike rate of 141.14. He will now look to return to scoring ways as RCB look to continue their winning run.