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Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) camp on Wednesday, March 13, ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), which is expected to be his final season as he eyes retirement from the league.
The three-time finalists will ramp up their preparation for the upcoming season, catalyzed by the arrival of their skipper Faf du Plessis. Ace batter Virat Kohli is also expected to join the camp soon, reportedly by March 17.
Karthik was recently seen during Team India's home Test series against England, where he was part of the broadcasting team. His last on-field involvement came during the Vijay Hazare Trophy with the Tamil Nadu state team.
The likes of Alazzi Joseph, Mahipal Lomror, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, and Anuj Rawat have already joined the camp and commenced preparations for the season. RCB are eyeing a fresh start under Andy Flower and Mo Bobat after parting ways with Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar during the off-season.
RCB failed to qualify for the playoffs in the 2023 season after a string of three successive playoff appearances. They will kickstart the 2024 edition with a contest against defending champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, March 22.
Dinesh Karthik had a dismal IPL 2023 campaign
The middle order and the lower-middle order were the areas where RCB struggled immensely during the previous edition, with Dinesh Karthik's poor form playing a huge role in the misfortune. After a brilliant 2022 campaign as a finisher, the wicketkeeper could only follow up with 140 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 134.62 in the 2023 season.
Although the veteran has not officially announced his intention to walk away from the IPL after the upcoming edition, multiple reports have indicated that it is the case.
RCB squad for IPL 2024
Faf du Plessis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.
