Dinesh Karthik ditches RCB after stampede case; announced moving to rival team from IPL 2026

While Dinesh Karthik enjoyed a stellar career in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he has often admitted that not playing for the Chennai Super Kings remains one of his biggest regrets.

The former India star represented as many as six teams in the IPL but never got the opportunity to represent his home franchise.

DK has had the long ambition to play for Chennai

Time and again, Dinesh Karthik has said that not getting picked by CSK hurt him big time. In an interview with Harsha Bhogle in 2020, when he was playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, Dinesh Karthik had said that CSK picking MS Dhoni over him in the first-ever auction was like a 'dagger to his heart'.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

"The first name I saw picked (by CSK in the first IPL auction) was MS Dhoni, for 1.5 million. He was sitting right down the corner from me. He didn’t even tell me a word that he was going to be picked by CSK. I guess he didn’t know, but that was the biggest dagger to my heart," Karthik had said.

"Then I thought they’re going to pick me later. But it’s been 13 years and I’m still waiting for the elusive call from CSK," he had added.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: India vs Pakistan Match In Doubt; Supreme Court Takes Up

CSK did bid for Dinesh Karthik several times later but never managed to sign him up. The right-handed batsman eventually finished his playing career in the IPL in 2024 without representing the Chennai-based outfit even once.

Dinesh Karthik on not playing for CSK:

In a recent interview on India Today, Dinesh Karthik was asked to name the franchise he would like to represent if he had to come out of retirement. He was given two choices - Royal Challengers Bengaluru or CSK.

"If you had to come out of retirement, and you were given a choice of franchise, CSK or RCB. Who would you choose?," asked the interviewer.

In reply, Karthik made it clear that he still wants to represent CSK as he said," Great question, because I played for RCB, I'd like to play for CSK once. I really miss not playing for CSK."

DK after playing for RCB,

"I really miss not playing for CSK" 😭 pic.twitter.com/ewj8xK0gBp

— ` (@WorshipDhoni) September 10, 2025

Karthik plied his trade in the IPL from 2008 to 2024. In his illustrious career, he played 257 matches and scored 4842 runs with the help of 22 half-centuries.