Fit to Play “Another 3 Years” After Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 2024 elimination from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dinesh Karthik announced his retirement from the league.
Dinesh Karthik retired from the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Royal Challengers Bengaluru withdrew in 2024. Karthik, regarded as one of the best Indian finishers in recent years, was one of RCB’s top performers once more, scoring 326 runs with a strike rate of 187.36. Karthik spoke with Cricbuzz about his choice, saying that while he is physically ready to play for “another three years,” it was the mental part of the sport that prompted him to hang up his boots. He also expressed doubts about his ability to compete in such lengthy tournaments.
“I believe I am physically well prepared to play for another three years. It becomes even easier with the Impact Player regulation in place. So, in terms of performing the sport, I believe I could have pushed for another cycle. I don’t have many problems in my life. Touch wood, I’ve never missed a game due to an injury in three decades. That has been a blessing for me. I was never concerned about my body or fitness. It was all about the mental side of things, whether I’ll be able to work as hard in the run-up to the tournament, and whether I’ll be alright with not playing as many matches.”
Karthik went on to say that he was unable to push himself psychologically, and that the fact that he is struggling to find a berth in the Indian cricket squad influenced his choice.
“I am a firm believer that whatever I set out to do, I will do everything in my power to excel at it. And I imagined that it would be difficult for me to play X number of matches from now on.
Mentally pushing myself for so long in terms of accomplishing everything in the lead-up, even if I faltered a little bit, I wouldn’t be… even though no one would know from the outside, but internally I’d find it very difficult and would be filled with guilt. I do not want that,” he added.
“After considering everything, I decided it was time to retire. Most significantly, it became clear that no matter what I did, I would not be able to play for India again. So that was the final nail in the coffin.
