“You can take the man out of cricket but not cricket out of the man! 🙌 Shower him with all the love, 12th Man Army.”

Karthik has announced his retirement on his 39th birthday.

“Having given it plenty of thought for sometime now, I have decided to move on from playing competitive cricket. I officially announce my retirement and put my playing days behind me as I square up for the new challenges that lie ahead,” Karthik announced in a social media post.

“I’d like to thank all my coaches, captains, selectors, teammates, and members of the support staff who have made this long journey pleasant and enjoyable. Among the millions that play the sport in our country, I consider among the lucky few to have had the chance to represent the nation,” Karthik added in his statement.

The wicketkeeper-batter made 257 appearances in IPL, scoring 4,842 runs at an average of 26.32. Karthik played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, and Kings XI Punjab apart from RCB.

Dinesh Karthik scored 1,792 runs and nine half-centuries in 94 ODI matches. In Tests, Karthik has 1,025 runs to his name, which include a century against Bangladesh, from 42 innings. In T20Is, he scored 686 runs in 60 games.

Karthik represented Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the T20 competition, twice as captain — in 2006/07 and 2020-21.