"Some of my best memories have come from South Africa" - Dinesh Karthik recalls historic 2007 moment ahead of SA20 2025 debut

Former Team India cricketer Dinesh Karthik is set to make his first appearance in SA20 this year. Ahead of hos debut, the veteran Indian keeper-batter has revealed that some of his best moments have come from playing in South Africa. The right-hander opined that the T20 World Cup in 2007 took the cake.

Karthik was part of The Men in Blue's squad that won the inaugural edition of the tournament. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old will ply his trade for the Paarl Royals in this season of SA20.

Speaking in a video uploaded by the Paarl Royals, the Tamil Nadu-born cricketer said winning the T20 World Cup was quite special since it's contributed to the rise of the IPL.

"My experience in South Africa has always been good. It’s been a place which has really supported my cricket. I’ve enjoyed playing here. Some of my best memories have come from South Africa, winning the T20 World Cup, being part of something so special and that also started a very big trend in Indian cricket and it’s called the IPL today," Karthik said.

The keeper-batter has played for numerous IPL franchises and played his final season for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) last year. In 257 matches, he mustered 4842 runs at 26.32 alongside a strike rate of 135.36.

---

"When the opportunity came up, I was very excited" - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik. (Image Credits: Getty)

Dinesh Karthik went on to reveal that he couldn't turn down the offer to be part of the tournament, given the things he heard about the quality of cricket and how it brings the best out of every player. He added:

"When the offer was there, I thought it was a good team to be a part of. Being part of the IPL for so many years, I haven’t been part of the Royals and a lot of my friends have played for this franchise and have only said good things. So when the opportunity came up, I was very excited and I also heard great things about the tournament in general, about how competitive it is, how the players do everything possible to get the best out of themselves and the last one, obviously, Paarl as a place."

The Royals are taking on the SunRisers Eastern Cape in their tournament-opener.