Dinesh Karthik to become first Indian to play in SA20, joins Paarl Royals

Dinesh Karthik is now eligible to play in franchise leagues outside India after retiring from Indian cricket.

In a significant development, former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik is all set to play the upcoming season of the South Africa T20 League (SA20) for Paarl Royals as an overseas player. The upcoming third edition of the SA20 will start on January 9 2025.

After the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, Karthik announced his retirement from international cricket. The 39-year-old represented Indian national cricket team in 180 games across formats and scored 3463 runs.

Karthik was last seen playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise in the IPL 2024 as their wicket-keeper batter. After the end of the 2024 season, the 39-year-old was roped in as a mentor-cum-batting coach of the Bengaluru-based franchise for the IPL 2025. 

Dinesh Karthik to join Paarl Royals in SA20

On Tuesday, 6th August, Paarl Royals announced signing Dinesh Karthik for the upcoming edition of the SA20 through a video on social media. They took it to X (formerly Twitter) to make the announcement.

“Batter. Keeper. Finisher. 🇮🇳 Welcome to the #RoyalsFamily, @DineshKarthik,” read the caption.

Batter. Keeper. Finisher. 🇮🇳Welcome to the #RoyalsFamily, @DineshKarthik 🔥 pic.twitter.com/f7bdcVFCRP

— Paarl Royals (@paarlroyals) August 6, 2024

Following announcement from Paarl Royals, Karthik showed his excitement of joining the side and announced his comeback to the ground again. “Entering the ground again as a player. This time in Africa,” wrote Karthik, replying to PR’s post on X.

Entering the ground again as a player. This time in Africa 🇿🇦 https://t.co/Snn910oIcg

— DK (@DineshKarthik) August 6, 2024

This will mark Karthik’s first appearance on field since announcing his retirement from Indian cricket in June this year.

It is to be noted that only retired Indian cricketers are allowed by the BCCI to take part in overseas T20 leagues. Few retired Indian players like: Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina have already played overseas leagues in the past few years.

This news came a day after Karthik was appointed as SA20 league’s ambassador. After being roped in as SA20’s brand ambassador, Karthik said, “I’m thrilled to join the Betway SA20 as an ambassador. The League has been electric in the first two seasons with some of the world’s best players on show and exciting young talent putting up their hands on the global stage. It’s a privilege to be associated with the Betway SA20 and I look forward to working with Graeme Smith and his team.”

How did Paarl Royals perform in the first two seasons?

The Royals are yet to play the final of the SA20. In the first two editions, the franchise progressed to the qualifiers after finishing fourth in 2023 and third in 2024.

Paarl Royals squad for SA20 2024:

David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dinesh Karthik, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dayyaan Galiem (traded in)

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