Chennai: Veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has formally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Saturday after two decades of playing for the country. Notably, Karthik chose to make the announcement official on his 39th birthday. His retirement was on cards after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s ouster from the IPL 2024 Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals last month.
“Having given plenty of thought for sometime now, I have decided to move on from playing competitive cricket. I officially announce my retirement and put my playing days behind me as I square up for the new challenges that lie ahead,” Karthik wrote on ‘X’.
Having represented the country in 180 games across three formats in which he scored 3463 runs with a lone Test hundred and 17 half-centuries, Karthik also had 172 dismissals to his credit, most of them behind the stumps with a few in the outfield.
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He first walked into public imagination with his airborne stumping of Michael Vaughan in England under Sourav Ganguly in 2004 and last played for India in 2022 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma. In between, he had played under Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
“I’d like to thank all my coaches, captains, selectors and members of the support staff, who have made this long journey pleasant and enjoyable,” he wrote. Post retirement, Karthik will be seen commentating at the T20 World Cup 2024 which begins on Sunday.
