After ending his IPL playing career, Karthik made a seamless transition to being RCB's batting coach and mentor.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) batting coach and mentor ahead of the IPL 2025 season. The 40-year-old tasted instant success in his new role as RCB clinched their maiden IPL title last year.
Speaking in an upcoming episode of the Quest Talk podcast by iQOO, Karthik expressed that RCB fans adopted him as a "son from their own land," highlighting a deep emotional bond.
He credited the supporters for shaping his career and cited RCB's IPL 2025 championship victory as an iconic moment he would love to relive.
“RCB fans made me who I am today. They adopted me as their son from their own land, and I have enjoyed that. One moment I would like to live again is RCB winning the IPL. I think that was a great moment, an iconic moment,” Karthik said.
The Defending champions have already sealed their place in the IPL 2026 playoffs, sitting at the top of the points table with 18 points from 13 games.
When the podcast host suggested it could happen again this year, Karthik replied: “Touch wood.”
Karthik attributed the team’s success to former coaching personnel like Sanjay Bangar and Mike Hesson and the current regime, including head coach Andy Flower and Director of Cricket Mo Bobat.
“In 2022, Sanjay Bangar and Mike Hesson did a good job for RCB in picking a fairly balanced team, but we still managed to keep going to the playoffs, but never ended up crossing that line. And then there were two people that RCB bought - Andy Flower and Mo Bobat.
“In the recent past, the person who has highly influenced me, I have learned a lot from him and enjoyed spending time with him, is Mo Bobat, because I feel he is someone who has great vision, knowledge, and who has come through the grind and is very respectful.
“Andy Flower is by far the best coach in the world by a distance. Purely from a results point of view, there is no one even close to him. Mind you, he does everything possible to win. And I'm very proud to say that RCB has a good culture in place and that is reflective of the way we play, of the way we behave, and of the way we prepare,” he remarked.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league match on Friday (May 22) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.