'Virat Kohli respects me' - Dinesh Karthik reflects on 'massive success' of his career

Dinesh Karthik has brought down the curtains on his illustrious career in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Royal Challengers Bengaluru's campaign ended in the ongoing season.

The Bengaluru-based outfit's hopes of winning its maiden IPL title were dashed with the loss against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. RCB had turned things around in a remarkable fashion to book a place in the playoffs. After losing seven of their eight games, they won six games in a row to storm into the playoffs before losing to Rajasthan Royals.

After the four-wicket defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium, an emotional Dinesh Karthik was seen waving at the fans and also received a guard of honor from his teammates. With the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman bringing down curtains on his playing career, Virat Kohli has a message for him.

In a video posted by RCB on social media in which Karthik spoke about his career, Virat Kohli shared a message as well. The former India skipper hoped that Karthik would continue his association with the franchise in one capacity or another. 

"Hopefully, he remains connected to RCB in one way or the other in the future because his expertise when it comes to cricket is priceless," said Kohli.

Dinesh Karthik replies to Virat Kohli:

In the same video, Dinesh Karthik replied to Virat Kohli's message. The former India cricketer hailed Kohli as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and expressed his admiration for him. Karthik also said that Kohli respecting and valuing him is a 'massive, massive success' in his career. 

The former cricketer also pointed out that he has learned a lot from Kohli and concluded his message by saying that he would always be available for RCB whenever they need his services. 

"Virat Kohli is probably one of the greatest sportsmen to have ever played this sport and arguably the most famous personality going around in the world of cricket. I've always been a well-wisher of his, been an admirer of his," said Karthik.

"Always looked at him from afar and learned a lot of things in terms of how much he pushes himself off the field. I am a big fan of his. To know that he respects me and values me as a person, I'll take that as a massive, massive success in my cricketing journey."

"And I will do anything I can for RCB whenever possible. The fact that they have given me a new lease of life when I played for them at the fag end of my career, is one that I will never forget," he added.

 

We’ve seen his friends and colleagues sing praises and give him a fitting farewell from the game, and thanks to the humble and understated character that he is, we had to push DK to speak about the highs and lows of his career, and the love he’s been getting from RCB fans and… pic.twitter.com/p7oXLr3BgK

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 24, 2024

Karthik was playing in the IPL from the very first season in 2008. He has ended his IPL career as a player by scoring 4842 runs in 257 games with the help of 22 half-centuries. In the ongoing season, he scored 326 runs including two fifties.