Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik on Wednesday retired from the Indian Premier League after his team crashed out of the playoffs in the Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 39-year-old Karthik, who will go down as an RCB legend, got a guard of honour from his teammates as he led the players off the field after thanking the crowd for their continued support throughout the season.
A short clip of Karthik getting all the applause and love from RCB and its fans surfaced on social media right after post-match presentation ceremony.
Karthik also got a hug from former RCB skipper Virat Kohli after the match finished with the Rajasthan Royals winning by 6 wickets at Motor.
BCCI/IPL
DK's perfect finish
DK, as he is popularly known all around the world, had a stellar season to finish off his legendary IPL career.
He amassed 326 runs from 12 innings at an impressive average of over 36 and a strike rate of nearly 190. Karthik played some memorable knocks during the campaign, but his best came against Sunrisers Hyderabad when he smashed 83 off 35 balls, albeit in a losing cause.
An all-time IPL legend
In terms of his overall numbers, Karthik bows out as an all-time legend and as the 10th most successful batter in the league's history with 4842 runs.
He is the league's second best wicketkeeper behind MS Dhoni with 174 dismissals - 137 catches, 37 stumpings. Dhoni heads with 190 dismissals - 148 catches, 42 stumpings.
Karthik is joint-second most capped player in IPL history with 257 T20s, along with Mumbai Indians legend Rohit Sharma. Dhoni, who is yet to announce his retirement from IPL, leads here as well with 264 matches, and still counting.
