Former India wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has opened up about how he became the batting coach and mentor at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), a year after announcing his retirement from all forms of the game. The 40-year-old spoke about how RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat sowed a seed in his mind during IPL 2024 about being involved in the support staff and how encouragement from Virat Kohli sealed the deal. Karthik was part of RCB’s coaching group, which helped win their maiden IPL last season, where they defeated Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad. “It manifested when, as I was finishing in 2024, Mo asked me if I would be keen or interested. I was in the middle of the tournament, and it was a very different IPL season – we had lost six out of seven or seven out of eight games, I don’t remember exactly – and we had a mountain to climb. To be fair, nobody gave us a chance.” “But I was so invested in that. We were having discussions while I was playing, and I was also speaking to my wife and Mo. Malolan Rangarajan was also giving me a picture of what it could be if I played. He never told me ‘do this or do that’. He just showed me how it would look.” “Mo was very confident I would be useful to the team. I trust Mo a lot – I’ve grown very fond of him and have a very good equation with him. He didn’t convince me, but he showed me exactly what it would look like and told me it’s a good place to be, considering where I was in my career. I completely trusted him, and I dropped the hat,” Karthik said on the RCB Podcast. He further said that Kohli urged him to think about the offer, suggesting that it would be good for him. He also revealed that head coach Andy Flower was also glad to have him on board. “In between all of this, towards the back end of the season, I spoke to Virat for a while, and he was very encouraging. He said, ‘Think about it, I think it’s good.’”Story continues below this ad “When the offer really came at the end of the season, after I hung my boots, Mo called me and said they were keen. He also said Andy was very happy and they were in a place where they felt a couple of Indian coaching staff would help as well”. “I remember speaking to Virat again, and he said, ‘You should do it. You would probably fit in quite nicely’. That’s all I needed. Someone like Virat has respect for you, and it is a challenge,” he added.
Dinesh Karthik reveals how Virat Kohli pushed him into RCB coaching role: ‘You would probably fit in quite nicely’
