Dinesh Karthik retires from IPL, Virat Kohli recalls first interaction in RCB video: ’I remember...’

Indian wicketkeeper and Royal Challengers Bengaluru star player Dinesh Karthik on 22 May announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League after the franchise were knocked out from the competition.

After the eliminator, the veteran wicket-keeper batter was given a guard of honour by RCB players and shared a video in which Karthik's wife Deepika Pallikal was also interviewed.

The video starts with Indian star batter Virat Kohli, where he recalls his first interaction with Karthik in 2009.

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"First time I met DK, I remember we were playing in South Africa if I am not wrong in the Champions Trophy 2009. It was the first time I shared the change-room with Dinesh and I found him to be very amusing, I would say hyper-active, confused person, most of the times he was moving all over the place, never stopping. That was my first impression of Dinesh," Kohli said in the video.

"Outstanding talent, brilliant batter to watch and my first impression and present day impression are not far apart. Just that he has become wiser and calmed down a lot," he added.

The franchise's former skipper even applauded Karthik's honest and courage.

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"Off the field, I have had some really nice and interesting conversations with him. He is wise man, has great knowledge about a lot of things, not just cricket. I have thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with him. Even in that phase in 2022 when I did not have a great IPL season, I was really struggling for confidence, he sat me down a couple of times and gave me a very honest explanation of how he is seeing things and maybe I am not able to see them myself," Kohli said.

"So, I just like his honesty and courage to go and speak to anyone about things that he dearly feels about. And that I think is the most special thing for me when it comes to Dinesh and that's one thing I have always cherished about him. That's why we get along really really well," Kohli added.

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Karthik's wife Deepika Pallikal, while sharing memorable moments from the cricketer's career admitted it would be tough for him to move on from the game. She even broke down on camera while speaking.

Sharing the video, RCB wrote on X, "DK, We love you! Not often do you find a cricketer who's loved by everyone around him. DK is one, because he was smart, humble, honest, and gentle! Celebrating @DineshKarthik's career with stories from his best friends and family!

Meanwhile, Deepika requested Karthik to spend more time with her and their children now as he retired from the game.