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RCB wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik made some shocking revelations around his IPL career with several different franchises in the tournament. The veteran wicketkeeper, who is featuring in his last IPL edition this year, spoke volumes of the Mumbai Indians (MI) ecosystem.
Speaking in a podcast by R Ashwin called ‘Kutti Stories’, Karthik explained what makes MI a special franchise in the tournament. While he highlighted the support of the franchise to its player, he also revealed that it was a big regret to leave the franchise. “What MI does is provide resources in term of practice and access to the coaches whenever you want to upskill your game. They’re always there, creating an ecosystem for you to become the best player that you can be,” Karthik stated.
“You can tell MI that in between Ranji Trophy matches, I want to practice and they have a field, they have coaches, they have balls and they have bowlers. They have sidearms, they will give you everything; they’ll give you a stay, they’ll give you flight tickets. They will give you everything possible to become the best version of yourself. So when you do that, you are impacting the player at a very subconscious level by saying we care for you. So I think that’s what MI does,” he further continued.
Karthik, who was released from the MI squad in 2012-13 further clarified that such top-class facilities motivates a player to do well for the franchise. “Do they expect results? Yes, like any other franchise, you would, but they’re also providing you with the resources to say that you become the best player that you can be, and then when you come on to play for MI, we expect you to do well for us. If you don’t do well for us, that’s fine, but we trust you. And you have a much better chance of improving your game, improving your skill sets, and then competing in the IPL, where you know that as a team we do well and they help do that to each and every person,” the wicketkeeper-batter further added.
The 38-year-old, who has featured so far for six IPL franchises in the tournament’s history, is currently plying his trade for the Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The Indian keeper-batter has played over 240 matches in the IPL, amassing more than 4000 runs at a strike rate of 133.31 with 20 half-centuries to his name.