IPL 2021 Phase 2: India’s favourite weatherman and Kolkata Knight Rider’s (KKR) wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik ended his commentary stint with Sky Sports with the 3rd Test at Headingley. He will now join the KKR camp in the UAE ahead of IPL 2021. KKR’s Indian players arrived in Dubai on August 27.
Ahead of his departure from the UK, Dinesh Karthik was greeted by his fellow commentators Michael Hussain, Mike Atherton, Shane Warne amongst others. The KKR batsman said the commentary stint was a great experience but now it is time to concentrate on his cricket and take a call after IPL 2021.
IPL 2021 Phase 2: “It’s been wonderful. I have thoroughly enjoyed the company. Everybody has been very good to me. The commentary part is really fun. It’s been great. For the moment, I am really happy with where I am. I am leaving in a couple of days, have the IPL coming up and then let’s see what happens after that,” Dinesh Karthik said at the end of the 3rd Test on Saturday.
𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 ‘𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨’ 𝘿𝙆! 👋😎👏
We bid a fond farewell to @DineshKarthik for the remainder of the series as he heads for the @IPL. 🏏💪
📺 Watch fourth #ENGvIND 🏴🇮🇳 Test live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday pic.twitter.com/svfIMHSnov
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 28, 2021
IPL 2021 Phase 2: Dinesh Karthik gained popularity amongst Indian fans for his morning weather updates from Southampton during the WTC Final. But he has also earned a lot of praise for his analytical skills amongst Indian and UK fans alike.
All of your love made my tour even more special 🤗🙇🏻♂️❤️ https://t.co/tNCo57f0wO
— DK (@DineshKarthik) August 27, 2021
Excellent to work with @DineshKarthik again. As a shrewd analyst of the game he has chosen the right moment to bow out 😉 https://t.co/uzPvSPz0QY
— Mike atherton (@Athersmike) August 28, 2021
IPL 2021 Phase 2: During his commentary stint, Dinesh Karthik had also taken interviews of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. However, for now, the 36-year-old will concentrate on cricket before taking a call on his career ahead of IPL 2022’s mega auction.
Furthermore, following IPL 2021, he could also be seen playing domestic cricket with Tamil Nadu, a side that he leads in the Ranji Trophy and in limited-overs tournaments.
However, in Phase 2 of IPL, Dinesh Karthik will have to bring his A-game as KKR are currently languishing at 7th spot with just two wins under their belt. Karthik too hasn’t been successful with the bat, scoring just 123 runs at an average of 30.75. In IPL 2020, he had a disappointing campaign, scoring just 169 runs at an average of 14.08.