Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik will be donning a new hat this year, having switched the playing field for the dugout. Karthik, after 17 seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will now be the batting coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025. Karthik was also at the auction table with RCB, where the franchise made some bold purchases. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Karthik talks about his new role ahead of IPL 2025, how the mentality of an Indian sportsperson has evolved over the years and how ready India is to host the 2036 Olympics. Dinesh Karthik spoke to Rica Roy on the sidelines of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, powered by Leaders.
Read the full interview:
Q. How do you see the evolution from being a player to a very different role now…what is it going to look like? Excited about it?
A. Being a player is very important. Being a player, it’s a luxury lisfestyle. Go there, people are there to help you and serve you.
Now, on the other side of the fence, so it’s more a self-service. So you try and serve everybody there. So I’m looking forward to it.
It’s a completely different role to anything that I’ve done in my life. Though so far it’s been fun, I’ve learned a lot, especially during the auction and the prep and the lead-up. I would say it’s been interesting.
Q. As fans we have seen that it has moved from a team with big stars to a team that is now picking up relatively new performers. Do you also see that as an evolution process?
A. So this auction we did look to understand that we wanted to spread the whole auction first towards batters and bowlers equally and we picked a team according to what we thought was the best way to put out a level on the path.
And so far, the team does look good on paper and having said that, I think all teams do look good on paper, but RCB definitely will try and do everything to give equal importance to each and every player, their role and what they can do for the team in tough conditions.
Q. You spoke about how the mentality of Indian players have changed and probably changed across the board. You come from a family that plays different sports.
I don’t know who’s making the next target, but do tell us how the mentality of Indian players changed over a period of time?
A: I think the landscape has changed. Indians, sportsmen and athletes do not want to compete, they want to win.
I think that is the biggest shift in mindset. You can see that in any sport. My wife is a squash player and the way she trains, the way she is doing, the fact that she still wants to challenge herself, she is today the mother of twins. Still she is going out there, practicing, knowing that the Asian Games are around the corner. And if she wants to compete, she needs to put in the work today and that’s something that I’ve enjoyed watching.
Q. Between you, your wife, your brother-in-law who is setting the next sporting target in the family?
A. They have accomplished a lot more than me for sure. They are both Padma Shris. They set the rules in the house and they follow bigger targets.
I’m just trying playing the sport and I’m happy being where I am right now.
Q. We are here talking and debating whether India can become a sporting nation. One of the big talking points is hosting the Olympics. What will it take us really to make that move?
A. India is a superpower, as we say, purely from an economical point of view. We have one of the fastest growing economies in the world. We have some of the biggest MNCs coming into the country, which tells us that they all look at India as a privileged land where they can grow the industry and grow every aspect of life. Sport is a big part of it. What we always lacked was infrastructure. With the financial influx, the one thing that will change is the building of infrastructure for every sport. You’ve seen JSW do what they do for so many other sporting heroes. I’ve been met the likes of Neeraj (Chopra), Chirag (Shetty), Satwik (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy). They say the infrastructure is getting better and they have started to practice in our own country. It tells us that we will be ready in a decade’s time in 2036 when the Olympics come to India. I think we’ll be ready for it.
Q. One final question, India having won the Champions Trophy lately. Looking at them, do you think that the players are more relaxed in their skin? Are they looking forward to bringing more ICC titles?
A. I think there’s more pressure for every minute trigger. I think it’s just that they’ve learnt to handle the pressure much better. They have a leader who has shown how he wants team India to play and the rest have followed through with their skillset.
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