With Royal Challengers Benglauru’s loss to Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 Eliminator, the Faf du Plessis’ side’s sensational run to the playoff came to an end; and with that possibly the career of one of the most enigmatic players in the league’s history – Dinesh Karthik. While the future of MS Dhoni in IPL remains uncertain, the other former Indian wicketkeeper Karthik had given ample hints that IPL 2024 would possibly be his final IPL season, and after RCB were knocked out of IPL 2024, the signs were there to affirm that the Tamil Nadu stumper will indeed hang up his boots. While there was no confirmation or official announcement from Karthik, the way he hugged Virat Kohli at the end of the game and the long embrace with the former India and RCB captain hinted at the emotional significance of this moment, potentially marking the end of the road for the 38-year-old. Contrary to some circulating videos and online reports, Karthik did not receive a guard of honour after the game. However, RCB did accord him the opportunity to lead the team out of the field as he made his way to the dugout for possibly the last time as an RCB player and even as an IPL player.

Further confirming that this was Karthik’s final IPL match, RCB coach Andy Flower, at the post-match press conference, also had a few words for Karthik before he took questions on the match.

“Before we begin the match, just a few words of Dinesh Karthik, possibly. He’s been an absolute pleasure to work with this year. I’ve never worked that closely with him before. I remember meeting him properly when I was England coach, and he was playing for India. We had some really interesting chats about batting at Lords. And I really liked him from the outset then. And after working with him this season, I like him even more and respect him even more. He’s been sensational," said Flower.

Flower praised Karthik for his attitude and contribution to RCB’s IPL 2024 campaign and added that, apart from being a brilliant commentator, Karthik has a knack for coaching, and it’s a role he could take up in the future.

“You know, he hadn’t played a lot of cricket leading into this tournament. And what he’s done for us runs-wise, attitude-wise, and contributing to the team in the dressing room and out on the field has been really special, and I respect him for it. So, I wish him well. He’s going to be super successful in whatever endeavours he goes on to. He’s a brilliant commentator already, and I think he has. He quite likes the idea of coaching as well, and working with and helping other people, which I’m not surprised about. And I think he’ll be a great success when he does that as well. I also think he might play just a few more little tournaments along the way, but lots of respect for him," added Flower.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1793356443091185852   A guard of honour in cricket is given to a player during the player’s final game. For a batter, team members line up in two rows with bats in hand to create a tunnel of sorts as the said player walks out to bat through the formation or goes back to the pavilion through the formation. For a bowler, the same thing is done without the bats and the guard of honour doesn’t need to be given only by the player’s teammates; the opposition teams can also be part of the formation.