SA20: At 39, DK happy with another debut in South Africa, opens up new avenue for Indian cricketers

Mumbai, Dec 1 (IANS) Dinesh Karthik has lived a nomadic life in T20 franchises, having played for six franchises in his 16-year career in the Indian Premier League that ended at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024. Though he is still associated with IPL as a Mentor at RCB, as a player Karthik is set for another journey, in South Africa where he made his T20I debut on December 1, 2006.

Also, it was in South Africa that Karthik won his first global title as part of the Indian team that clinched the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007.

Set to become the first Indian player to take part in the SA20, the third season of which will be held from January 9 to February 8, 2025, the former India international is excited about his new innings and is hopeful his sojourn to the African continent will attract many more from his country.

Karthik retired as a hard-hitting late dasher from IPL as 10th on the all-time list of batting leaders with 4842 runs in 257 matches. His retirement has, at the age of 39, opened up the opportunity to play offshore franchise leagues as he is now not governed by the strict policy of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which does not allow Indian cricketers to play in foreign T20 leagues until they retire from all forms of cricket in the country.

The wicketkeeper has thus joined Paarl Royals, one of the six franchises and has also been made the India ambassador of the SA20, thus stitching together another bond with the South African league in which IPL franchises own all teams. While Paarl Royals are owned by Rajasthan Royals, the other teams MI Cape Town (Mumbai Indians), Durban Super Giants (Gujarat Giants), Joburg Super Kings (Chennai Super Kings) and two-time winners Sunrisers Eastern Cape (Sunrisers Hyderabad) -- too are owned by IPL franchises.

It is this bond with IPL that makes Karthik believe that more Indian players will venture out into the SA20 in future. He says he will share his opinion after his debut season.

Though Karthik is retired from both international cricket and the IPL as a player and there are fewer chances of current players shunning the IPL riches for SA20 or for that matter any other league, it definitely opens up a new door for those who fail to get IPL deals and want to try their luck elsewhere.

Asked whether he sees a lot of Indian players in action in SA20 ten years down the line, Karthik was non-committal but said cricketers are always looking to improve and grow financially.

"Ten years down the line, I can say that. Obviously, there is a policy in BCCI and everyone is adhering to that policy. But I hope I'm the first player to come out and play in this league because I can definitely share my experience post the league and how it was on a personal front. But so far from what I've heard, I don't think it can be very bad. I'm very confident it's a league where you can enhance your game.

"At the end of the day, all active players are looking for two things. A) How do I get better as a player? B) Financially, how is it viable? And on both fronts, I can confidently say that SA20 is definitely helping every player who is part of it," Karthik told IANS during the SA20 India Media Day organised by the league recently.

Karthik is quite excited about playing in SA20 and said he had enquired with international players who were also appearing in IPL about the South African league and whatever he heard from them, made him opt for it as his first full-time contract in a foreign T20 league.

"See, when I actually finished playing with IPL, I still wanted to play some cricket, I'm not going to lie. So I was thinking, what were the options? Now, how do I find out? I've never been part of any league. So I asked players who've been part of other leagues. The one thing that came out very strongly, almost unanimously, was the fact that the SA20 was the best-held tournament, the most exciting tournament.

"It's got the most interesting rivalries as well because of the domestic setup. And you put everything together and the answer was pretty straightforward for me. I was very keen on playing in this tournament. And I just let it be. And then the offer came through from Royals and I couldn't say no. And to have been appointed ambassador was a cherry on top because Graeme was kind enough to get me into that role. So put everything together for me, it was a no-brainer. And I'm very happy to be part of this tournament. Anyone I speak to, only speaks about the good experience they had and I'm really looking forward to this tournament," said Karthik.

Karthik, who retired with 1,025 runs in 26 Tests at an average of 25.00 with one century and seven fifties, said he has watched both editions of SA20 very closely and found that it was very competitive because of the strong domestic cricket culture in the country.

"So I've watched both editions very closely because a lot of the players that I've played with in IPL teams have played in that tournament. And South Africa has been a very fond place for me because of the memories I've had," he said.

"Be it part of the World Cup, I had a very successful stint as a Test player as well. So, it's a place that I always look forward to going. And when SA20 came up and you watched other tournaments, the one very evident thing is teams which have a strong domestic cricket culture come through with these franchise tournaments very well.

"And the fact that South Africa has had a very good domestic structure over a period of time, I think you could almost say they were frontrunners to be a very good tournament. And on top of that, the teams that assemble there, the six franchises that represent the domestic structure there, have been very good in terms of their assortment of players," the former Tamil Nadu player added.

The wicketkeeper-batter said South Africa's successful domestic structure has attracted top players from other countries.

"They've almost got the top players across batters, bowlers, in the ICC rankings as we speak. So it was a very well-fought tournament. Add to the fact that the Indian franchise is very interested in it. Made it a certain rivalry which almost already exists. So it's been a very interesting take for me. It was the first tournament where all the franchises were bought over by IPL teams purely because they knew how far that tournament would go," he concluded.

--IANS

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