Talismanic India batter Virat Kohli has expressed immense gratitude to his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Dinesh Karthik for helping him in his tough time, a phase where he struggled for confidence.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter Karthik’s long playing career ended when RCB exited the IPL 2024 after a four-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator at Ahmedabad earlier this week. Karthik represented India in 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is since his international debut in 2004.
“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,” said Kohli in a tribute video posted by the franchise on Friday.
"I just like his honesty and courage" - Virat Kohli
Karthik played in every season of the Indian Premier League since 2008, and it was his second stint in RCB after the 2015 season.
“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.
The right-handed batter recalled his first meeting with Karthik in the national team set-up. “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.”
"He's done brilliantly to switch and become a renowned finisher" - Virat Kohli
The Delhi-born cricketer also talked about Karthik's evolution and added:
“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.”
