Dinesh Karthik is the highest run-scorer for RCB with 197 runs.
Dinesh Karthik's performance for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing IPL 2022 has been an eye-opener for many. After six matches in the tournament, he is the RCB's leading run-scorer with 197 runs at a strike rate of 209, a boundary every three balls, and two Player of the Match awards.
This led to the RCB fans comparing Karthik to AB de Villiers, with many claiming that the Indian had rightfully replaced the IPL legend as the finisher in the playing XI. Karthik's form prompted a response from 'Mr. 360' AB de Villiers himself.
AB de Villiers, ahead of RCB's match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), said that he was surprised by Karthik's batting in this IPL, adding that he had no cricket exposure in the previous few months and last he saw him, Karthik was commentating in England before the second leg of the IPL 2021.
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De Villiers also praised him as a "360-degree" player, admitting that watching him play makes him want to get back into the game.
“The form he is at this moment and he has already won RCB 2-3 games. He looks like he is in the form of his life. I don't know where that comes from because he hasn't played a lot of cricket. But man, he looks in good form and he plays around the wicket 360 degrees. He almost makes me feel like I want to go back and play some cricket again, watching him play. He gets me excited, plays under pressure in the middle order and he's got a lot of experience and if he keeps his form up there is a good chance that RCB are going a long way up," AB de Villiers told VUSport Streaming.
“I was incredibly surprised and I didn't expect it. I have always known that he is a very capable player, a nitty-gritty kind of a guy. He likes the high-pressure situations and he's a busy player at the wicket. But he hasn't played a lot of cricket. The last time I saw him before IPL he was commentating in the UK. He wasn't playing a lot of domestic cricket and I though he is possibly at the end of his career finishing. But he surprised us all I think with the intent and energy.”
The RCB game against LSG will take place at the DY Patil Sports Academy on Tuesday.