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Dinesh Karthik, representing Paarl Royals in the third season of the SA20, was seen honing his wicketkeeping skills while working on his movements and reflexes.
SA20: Dinesh Karthik of Paarl Royals (X)
Dinesh Karthik is gearing up for a return to professional cricket after a long hiatus of almost seven months. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter is set to represent Paarl Royals in the third season of the SA20. He is the first Indian cricketer to feature in the franchise competition, scheduled to begin on January 9. With a few days left for the curtain-raiser, Karthik has already reached South Africa to get ready for the T20 tournament. Paarl Royals recently dropped a video on X (formerly Twitter) where the 39-year-old was sweating it out in a net session.
Accompanied by a coaching staff, Karthik honed his wicketkeeping skills while working on his movements and reflexes.“Bringing DK’s first training session to your feeds,” Paarl Royals wrote in the caption of the post. The video quickly went viral, with fans extending best wishes to Karthik for his upcoming assignments in the SA20.
Paarl Royals, a sister franchise of the former IPL champions Rajasthan, signed Dinesh Karthik as one of the marquee overseas recruits in August last year. The right-hand batter announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in June but later decided to compete in the SA20. With David Miller in charge, Paarl Royals will begin their campaign with a match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape on January 11.
“I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa, and when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals,” Karthik said after signing the contract with the franchise.
The star finisher has a rich experience in white-ball cricket. He was part of India’s maiden T20 World Cup triumph in South Africa in 2007 and lifted the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy as well. During his international career spanning over 15 years, Karthik played 180 matches across all three formats and aggregated 3,463 runs. As the wicketkeeper, he contributed to 172 dismissals.
Karthik was last seen in action during the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Karthik struck 326 runs in 14 matches before his team crashed out of the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals. Overall, he has featured in 401 IPL gamestoscore7,407 runs.
