Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has attributed his decision to join the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) support staff to encouragement from the legendary Virat Kohli. Karthik was appointed RCB’s batting coach and mentor ahead of the IPL 2025 season.

Following his retirement after the 2024 season, Karthik revealed that RCB's Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, initiated the offer, with a final push from Kohli securing his transition into the new role.

The 40-year-old tasted instant success after becoming part of the setup as RCB clinched their maiden IPL title last year.

“It all began when, as I was finishing up in 2024, Mo asked me if I would be interested. I was in the middle of the tournament, and it was a very different IPL season. We had lost six out of seven or seven out of eight games, I don’t remember exactly, and had a mountain to climb. To be fair, nobody gave us a chance,” Karthik said on the RCB podcast.

Karthik revealed that his decision to move into a coaching and mentoring role was challenging, involving detailed discussions with his wife, Mo Bobat, and Malolan Rangarajan, RCB’s Head of Scouting and Fielding Coach.

“Mo was very confident I would be useful to the team. I trust him a lot; I’ve grown very fond of him and share a very good equation with him. He didn’t try to convince me, but instead showed me exactly what the role would look like and told me it was a good place to be, considering where I was in my career. I completely trusted him, and I took the plunge,” he added.

His conversations with Kohli also played a key role in the decision. “Towards the back end of the season, I spoke to Virat for a while, and he was very encouraging. He said, ‘Think about it, I think it’s good,’” Karthik continued. “When the offer officially came at the end of the season, after I hung up my boots, Mo called to say they were keen. He also mentioned that Andy was very happy and that they felt having a couple of Indian coaches would help.”

In the end, Kohli’s endorsement - stating, “You should do it. You would probably fit in quite nicely”, cemented his decision to pivot to a coaching and mentoring role at RCB.