Will IPL 2023 be Dinesh Karthik’s last season
In 14 matches, Dinesh Karthik could only score 140 runs at an average of 11.67.
After a stellar season last year, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) showed faith in Dinesh Karthik and retained him for IPL 2023. Karthik could only score 140 runs in 14 matches at an average of 11.67. Also, on Sunday night, he got a golden duck in RCB’s last league game, in which they lost to Gujarat Titans by 6 wickets and crashed out of the tournament. Karthik now has the most number of ducks in IPL history – 17, of which 4 were secured this season.
Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody has admitted that IPL 2023 could be his last season considering Karthik’s dismal performance. Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Moody said that the experienced stopper has been average and may not continue next year.
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“Dinesh Karthik has had a very average tournament and you wonder if this could possibly be his last,” Moody told ESPNcricinfo.
RCB needed to beat GT to qualify for the playoffs. Faf du Plessis and Co. set the defending champions a target of 198 runs thanks to Virat Kohli’s second consecutive century. But the blazing innings of Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar’s brilliant Fifty sank the ship of RCB. The defeat knocked the Royal Challengers out of the season, thereby confirming the qualification of Mumbai Indians with 16 points.
Despite the elimination, Moody outlined several positives for the franchise. He praised players like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell for scoring runs this season and also mentioned the success of Mohammad Siraj with the new ball.
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“There’s a lot to like about what they’ve done this year, with Virat Kohli back to his best and Faf du Plessis in incredible form at the top of the order, plus great leadership from him,” he added. Mohammed Siraj has bowled exceptionally well throughout the tournament, Maxwell has done a lot as well, that definitely ticks up.
The league stage of IPL 2023 came to an end with RCB’s defeat in Bengaluru on Sunday night. The playoffs begin on Tuesday with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier in Chennai. The eliminator will be played between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians on Wednesday at the same venue.
