Dinesh Karthik previously joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a mentor-cum-batting coach for his final IPL team.
On Tuesday, former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik signed with Paarl Royals for the third season of the SA20, becoming the first Indian cricketer to participate in the South African league, which begins on January 9. Karthik, 39, retired from all forms of cricket in June this year and was subsequently appointed as a mentor-cum-batting coach by IPL’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. “I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa, and when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals,” said Karthik, who has played 180 matches for India across all three formats.
His last competitive T20 appearance was for RCB in IPL 2024, where he scored 326 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 187.36.
Karthik’s last match for India was against Bangladesh during the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.
“I am delighted to be joining the Paarl Royals team, which has a lot of experience, quality, and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season,” said Karthik, who was named the league ambassador a day earlier.
Royals’ Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, is eager to leverage Karthik’s extensive T20 experience.
“Dinesh has been one of the modern-day greats for India in white-ball cricket, and his wealth of experience will benefit our team immensely. He has always been a great asset for the teams he has represented, given his approach to the game and the impact he can make,” said Sangakkara.
At the Royals, Karthik will join other international stars such as skipper David Miller, Joe Root, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Kwena Maphaka.
