Did Kumar Sangakkara pressurise Dinesh Karthik to sign for Paarl Royals? Sri Lanka legend breaks silence

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has clarified that he has not utilized his friendship with Dinesh Karthik to convince the latter to sign for Paarl Royals.

Paarl Royals, on Tuesday (August 6), confirmed that the former India wicketkeeper-batsman will be plying his trade for them in the next season of SA20.

Dinesh Karthik, who retired from all forms of the game after IPL 2024, will become the first-ever Indian player to play in South Africa's premier T20 competition. He will be playing for IPL franchise Rajasthan Royal's sister franchise Paarl Royals in the tournament.

After Dinesh Karthik's signing was confirmed, Kumar Sangakkara, who is the Royals' Director of Cricket, said that he knows the former India cricketer very well but did not use his friendship to pressure him to join the Royals.

Karthik had brought down curtains on his career as a player but has decided to reverse his decision to play in SA20. Sangakkara hailed Karthik's passion for the game and said that the franchise had no hesitation in signing him up.

"It's very unfair on DK if I had pressurized him on friendship because it's a professional sport and you have to go where you are valued not just in terms of your ability and skill and personality but also in terms of the financials," said Kumar Sangakkara.

"I know DK really well. He has got a great passion for the game as we saw in the last season (IPL), he was phenomenal. On his retirement and his appetite to play overseas leagues, it was a very easy choice to try and ensure that he comes to us," he added.

Dinesh Karthik will fit in very well: Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara also backed Dinesh Karthik to fit in well with the Royals. The Sri Lanka legend said that the franchise is excited to secure Karthik's services and also said that he would be enjoying the tournament. Sangakkara said that the franchise did not face too many difficulties in convincing Karthik to sign up for them.

"I think he'll fit in very well with the Paarl Royals and the Royals' philosophies. We are very excited to having him on board, he'll enjoy playing with us in that location in Paarl but also the tournament itself. Very happy he took the time to consider our offer and was very open and honest with me and the franchise so it was great we were able to sign him," said Kumar Sangakkara.

Karthik has ample experience in T20 cricket and will be looking to make a big impact in SA20. The right-handed batsman has played for six teams in the IPL across 17 seasons. He plied his trade for Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Overall, Karthik has played 401 T20s so far and has scored 7407 runs with the help of 34 half-centuries. Incidentally, Karthik made his T20I debut in South Africa in 2006 and was also a member of the Indian team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in the same country in 2007. Karthik would be looking to make more memories in the African country.