Veteran India cricketer and former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has been named the franchise's batting coach and mentor on Monday, July 1.
39-year-old, who announced his retirement from the IPL following his team's elimination from the tournament in the eliminator against the Rajasthan Royals in May 2024, has decided to stay with the team in different roles.
"Welcome our keeper in every sense, Dinesh Karthik, back into RCB in an all new avatar. DK will be the Batting Coach and Mentor of RCB Men’s team! You can take the man out of cricket but not cricket out of the man," RCB wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
As per Cricbuzz, Karthik will now move on to being a part of the support staff as RCB continues to hunt for a maiden IPL trophy. Karthik leaves behind a remarkable IPL legacy. As one of the league’s founding members, he has played a staggering 257 matches – the joint second-highest alongside Rohit Sharma – falling just short of MS Dhoni’s record of 264 appearances.