London [UK], July 18 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) analyst Freddie Wilde hailed the team's batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik, for his impact during the team's maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title, comparing his work to that of a "football manager".
RCB ended their 18-year-long title drought, defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a well-fought final at Narendra Modi Stadium on July 3. RCB won by six runs.
Speaking on the 'For The Love of Cricket' podcast hosted by ex-England pacer Stuart Broad and wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, Wilde said, "DK was very animated, similar to Ashish Nehra, in terms of moving fielders & making adjustments - in couple of tight games, where DK made small adjustments to the field as a football manager does - I think it was against CSK, where he moved third man fractionally finer, by a few meters and ball went to straight to that guy."
After retiring from all formats of the game last year, Dinesh slipped into the role of a mentor and batting coach for RCB seamlessly. His work during the auction and his work with players was met with immense praise, especially from wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who had a brilliant season, scoring 261 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of over 176, with a best score of 85*.
Karthik finished his IPL career with 4,842 runs in 257 matches (joint second-most with Rohit Sharma), studded with 22 fifties. In his illustrious IPL career, which spanned over 17 years, Karthik played for six franchises in the cash-rich league. He made his debut in the inaugural season in 2008 with the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). He switched to Punjab in 2011 and went on to play for the Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders and the RCB.
After a poor season in 2015, Dinesh delivered consistently for RCB as a finisher. In 60 matches for RCB, he made 937 runs in 53 innings at an average of 24.65, with 162.95 and three fifties to his name. In his final season in the IPL for RCB, he made 326 runs in 13 innings at an average of 36.22, with a strike rate of 187.35, two half-centuries to his name and best score of 83.