Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik had announced his retirement after IPL 2024. Along with IPL, he had also taken retirement from all formats of international cricket. But at the age of 39, he is going to create history by debuting once again. Actually, he is going to participate in the T20 league SA20 starting from January 9. He will be the first Indian player to play in this tournament. Karthik will debut in this league for SA20 team Paarl Royals. The Royal team has welcomed him in a unique way.

Pushpa becomes Karthik

Paarl Royals has shared a wonderful video to welcome Dinesh Karthik. This video starts in a unique way. Rakesh Sharma is said to be the first Indian to go to space. Then Bhanu Athaiya is shown as the first Indian to win an Oscar. After this, Rabindranath Tagore is informed of being the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize and Abhinav Bindra to be the first Indian to win the Olympic Gold Medal. Then Dinesh Karthik enters in the style of Allu Arjun's famous film 'Pushpa' and is shown as the first Indian to play SA20.

Welcome to your new home, DK pic.twitter.com/1lUTxHZVML

— Paarl Royals (@paarlroyals) January 6, 2025

Paarl Royals, captained by David Miller, will start their journey in the third season of SA20 against defending champion Sunrisers Eastern Cape on January 11. With the entry of Dinesh and Karthik, the Royals team is looking even stronger. He was seen in the role of finisher for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. He scored 326 runs in 15 matches at an average of 36.22 and strike rate of 187. Karthik played an important role in taking Bengaluru to the playoffs and now the Royals will also expect the same from him.

De Villiers appealed to BCCI

Veteran South African cricketer AB de Villiers expressed happiness over Karthik's departure. He also appealed to BCCI to allow more players to play in the tournament. He said, 'We know that Dinesh Karthik is going to play here this year. This will be great for the tournament. I would love if more players from India come. Hopefully BCCI will allow us to call other Indian players for SA20.