Dinesh Karthik to represent Paarl Royals in SA20 2025
Third season of SA20 will be first tournament Karthik will play since announcing retirement from Indian cricket
Dinesh Karthik is set to become the first Indian player to feature in the SA20, as he will join the Paarl Royals as an overseas player ahead of the new season starting on 9 January 2025.
According to details, the third season of SA20 will be the first tournament Karthik will play since announcing his retirement from Indian cricket in June on the day he turned 39.
Karthik, who played 180 internationals for India, last featured in the IPL 2024 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who have now signed him up as a mentor-cum-batting coach.
Karthik, currently covering The Hundred for Sky Sports, has featured in 401 T20s and, in the IPL, played for six teams. Karthik was also among the fittest players in the IPL, having missed just two matches across 17 seasons.
"I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa," Karthik said. "When this opportunity came about, I couldn't say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals.
"Even though I didn't have the chance to represent the Royals in the IPL, to me it was always a franchise setup and environment that was very attractive as a player. I am delighted to be joining the Paarl Royals team which oozes a lot of experience, quality and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season."
Paarl Royals announced their retentions ahead of the new season last week, with captain David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo making the cut. Royals made the Qualifiers in the last SA20 edition but suffered five straight losses, including a nine-wicket thumping in the Eliminator against Joburg Super Kings.
Earlier, the franchise announced that England captain Jos Buttler will not be featuring this year as he is slated to be part of the white-ball series in India.
Paarl Royals squad so far
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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