India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is set to end his IPL career at the end of the upcoming edition, when he appears for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the next two months, says report.
According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Karthik will also make a final decision soon on his international future.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who commenced his IPL journey with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), stands among a distinguished list of seven players who have participated in every IPL season since its inception in 2008. This group includes renowned names such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey.
Remarkably, Karthik has only been absent for two matches out of all 16 IPL seasons. The first instance occurred in his debut season, against Kolkata Knight Riders, and the second was in 2023 when he sat out of the league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Karthik's current stint with RCB is his second with the Bengaluru based franchise, having played with them in 2015, when he was acquired for a whopping Rs 10.5 crore.
Ahead of the 2022 edition of the league, he was released by KKR and was available for the IPL Mega Auction. He was bought by RCB for INR 5.5 crore.
Karthik has assumed leadership roles in the IPL in 43 matches. On six occasions as a stand-in captain at Daredevils and for 37 matches between 2018 and 2020 at Knight Riders before relinquishing the position. His overall captaincy record stands at 21 wins, 21 losses, and one tied match.
Overall, he has represented six teams over the course of his IPL career. He started off with Delhi Daredevils in 2008 before moving to Kings XI Punjab in 2011. He spent the following two seasons with Mumbai Indians before going back to Delhi in 2014. RCB bagged him in 2015 and he played for Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 before spending four seasons with KKR.
RCB will play the tournament opener against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at his home ground in M A Chidambaram Stadium.
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