Team India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has shared his experiences with sledging throughout his career, humorously recalling the frequent taunts from star all-rounder Hardik Pandya during IPL matches.
Karthik, who retired from IPL after playing against Rajasthan Royals in the 2024 Eliminator, is the second most-capped player in IPL history. He was also part of the Mumbai Indians’ squad when they won their first title in 2013.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik recounted how Pandya believed that leg spin was the key to dismissing him.
“Every time I played against RCB and Virat Kohli caught my catch, ‘Ben Stokes’ came out of his mouth for sure. But that was a send-off.”
“Hardik Pandya sledged me saying ‘Abhi legspinner aaya, iska thank you hi hai’ [Now a leg spinner will come and it is Thank You time] Then I had to play a couple of shots and then he was like ‘Theek hai, thoda improve hogaya lag raha hai’. [Looks like he’s improved a bit]. That was good.”
The veteran also remembered Rohit Sharma’s remarks about the World Cup during IPL 2024: “He’s a good friend. He was also like ‘commentator banke bhi thoda kaam kar raha hai’. [Even after becoming a commentator, he’s working on his game] That was fun. Rohit Sharma this year taunting me… unnecessarily giving me hopes. [laughs].”
Although he expressed his desire to play in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the selectors did not consider him for the event. He was part of the India squad in the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals.
“I’ve really enjoyed your commentary” – Dinesh Karthik remembers MS Dhoni’s compliment
When asked about the best compliments he has received, the Tamil Nadu-born cricketer mentioned those from Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. He added:
“There’s been a lot of outpouring of love… One for my cricket – Virat Kohli saying that he’d love me being part of the [RCB] team which was a great compliment. Dhoni said: ‘I’ve really enjoyed your commentary, DK. Very, very good.’ That’s about as big a compliment as you can get from Dhoni I guess.”
The veteran cricketer is among the elite group selected for the commentary team for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
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