Dinesh Karthik to end IPL career after 2024 edition, to decide on international retirement soon
Dharamsala (PTI): India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik is all set to make his last IPL appearance in the 2024 edition beginning on March 22, and he will decide on his international retirement after the lucrative T20 league.
The 38-year-old, who is currently contracted with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, has played in all the 16 editions of the IPL since 2008 and has only missed two matches across 16 seasons.
"This 2024 edition will be his (Dinesh Karthik's) last IPL. He will decide his international retirement after the IPL," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
One of the most experienced wicket-keeper batters in the IPL, Karthik has represented six teams in the league.
He started off with Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in 2008 before moving to Kings XI Punjab in 2011. He spent the following two seasons with Mumbai Indians before going back to Delhi in 2014 for a price tag of a whopping Rs 12.5 crore.
Royal Challengers signed him in 2015 for Rs 10.5 crore and he then played for Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 before spending four seasons with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
He has led the Kolkata side to IPL playoffs in 2018 and they finished fifth in the points table in 2019.
Ahead of the IPL 2022, Karthik was released by KKR and was bought by RCB for the second time for Rs 5.5 crore. He had a stellar 2022 for RCB while mainly playing the role of a finisher.
Karthik made 330 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55 and an explosive strike-rate of 183.33 that year, a guiding force in RCB's march to the play-offs.
That run earned Karthik a berth in the India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 held in Australia but he could not shine as expected as Virat Kohli's side bowed out of semifinals after a defeat against eventual champions England.
But by then, Karthik had also made a name for himself as a commentator with his sprightly, technique-laden approach.
The Tamil Nadu man has a reasonable stint at international career too, considering his career clashed with that of MS Dhoni as a wicketkeeper batsman.
He has played 26 Tests after making debut in 2004 against Australia, scoring 1025 runs and effecting 57 catches and 6 stumpings. He played his last Test in 2018.
In the ODIs, he scored 1752 runs in 94 matches between 2004 and 2019, and managed 64 catches and 7 stumpings.
Karthik's last match for India was the T20I against Bangladesh in 2022 after making his debut in the shortest format in 2006. He scored 686 runs from 60 T20Is and effected 30 catches and 8 stumpings.
Karthik has played in 242 IPL matches since the inaugural edition, scoring 4516 runs at an average of 25.81 and strike rate of 132.71, with 20 half-centuries. He has affected 141 catches and 36 stumpings.
However, he recently featured in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai.
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Congress committed to social justice, says Karnataka CM; hits out at JD(S), BJP
BJP Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that the Congress remains firmly committed to social justice, both in principle and practice.
"The Congress is a party committed to social justice. This ideological commitment has been demonstrated not merely through words but through action," the CM said in a statement, underlining that the party has consistently translated its philosophy into governance.
He said his recent article marking Social Justice Day has sparked debate.
Defending the piece, he said: "An article I wrote for a newspaper as part of Social Justice Day celebrations has sparked multifaceted debate in the state’s political circles. If water remains stagnant, it turns into slush; if it flows, it becomes clearer."
"The social system is similar—if it does not remain rigid and instead becomes dynamic, it transforms in a people-centric manner. From this perspective, I welcome the discussion surrounding my article," he added.
Stating that his commitment to social justice is longstanding, the CM said, "Whether in power or out of it, my stand in favour of social justice has remained unwavering. I have greater clarity about the caste system among us than the politicians criticising me."
"I am prepared for a public debate on this issue," Siddaramaiah added.
Responding to criticism from Union Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy, he said, "I have taken his allegation—that I have ‘dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair’—lightly."
Launching a sharp attack on JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his family, Siddaramaiah added, "Kumaraswamy and his revered father Deve Gowda are certainly not casteists; they are against their own caste. More importantly, they are family-centric. For them, caste is merely a vote bank."
He alleged that past, present, and future top JD(S) leaders would always be members of the Gowda family, questioning how many Vokkaliga leaders the party had nurtured during Deve Gowda’s long political career.
The CM maintained that it was the Congress that had identified and politically groomed Vokkaliga leaders.
"From Kengal Hanumanthaiah to S M Krishna, hundreds of Vokkaliga leaders have been nurtured. If Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Kadidal Manjappa, and S M Krishna became chief ministers, it was because of the Congress," he said, adding that several prominent Vokkaliga leaders are currently in the party.
"If one day anyone other than a member of Deve Gowda’s family becomes chief minister, it will be through the Congress," he noted.
Highlighting inclusivity, Siddaramaiah said the Congress has enabled leaders from Vokkaliga, Lingayat, and backward communities to become chief ministers in Karnataka, and expressed gratitude to party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for giving him a second term.
He added that leaders from the Dalit community who rise to the CM's post do so on merit, not merely caste. "I can confidently say that if someone from the Dalit community becomes chief minister in the future, it will be possible only through the Congress,” he reiterated.
He questioned whether the JD(S) or the BJP in the state is capable of fostering such aspirations. "This is the difference between the Congress, the BJP and JD(S). Therefore, I urge those accusing me of practising caste politics to introspect," the CM said.
