Former Indian cricketer and newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor and batting coach, Dinesh Karthik, is set to feature in the next edition of SA20 League. Karthik will become the first Indian player to play in South Africa's franchise T20 league.
The wicketkeeper-batter will join Paarl Royals as an overseas player. Earlier this year, Karthik announced his retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) after RCB were knocked out of the eliminator by Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The news comes a day after Karthik was appointed as SA20 league's ambassador.
“I’m thrilled to join the Betway SA20 as an ambassador. The League has been electric in the first two seasons with some of the world’s best players on show and exciting young talent putting up their hands on the global stage. It’s a privilege to be associated with the Betway SA20 and I look forward to working with Graeme Smith and his team,” said Karthik in a press release.
Karthik is currently commentating in the ongoing The Hundred competition for Sky Sports.
Paarl Royals’ first two seasons
Paarl Royals are yet to play in the SA20 league final. In the first two seasons, they progressed to the qualifiers after finishing fourth and third respectively. In the previous edition, they were eliminated by Faf du Plessis-led Joburg Super Kings.
Karthik’s T20 numbers
On the international stage, Karthik has played 60 T20Is. He has scored 686 runs from 48 innings at an average of 26.38 including just one half-century. His strike rate in T20Is is 142.61.
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Karthik is RCB's second-highest Indian run-scorer after Virat Kohli in the IPL. The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter has scored 937 runs from 53 innings at an average of 24.65 including three half-centuries. His strike rate of 162.95 stands out of the lot. Overall, Karthik is the second-highest run scorer in IPL history as wicketkeeper-batter after legendary MS Dhoni. The 39-year-old has scored 4,842 runs from 234 innings at an average of 26.31 including 22 half-centuries.
BCCI allows only retired players to play in overseas T20 leagues
So far, only retired Indian players can participate in the overseas franchise T20 Leagues. Last year, Ambati Rayudu who retired after Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) IPL 2023 triumph, played for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan turned up for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20. Earlier, Suresh Raina played for Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 as well.
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