Dinesh Karthik, the former Indian wicket-keeper batter who led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden title in his first-ever season as their mentor, has been appointed as the batting coach and mentor of the London Spirit in The Hundred.
Dinesh Karthik was appointed the mentor of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of IPL 2025. He played for the same franchise till 2024 and helped them to the knockouts, but then announced his retirement ahead of the 2025 season.
Under DK’s mentorship, Royal Challengers Bengaluru formed one of the strongest XIs of all time and went on to claim their first title in the history of the IPL. He has now unlocked new heights in his career as a cricket coach.
Dinesh Karthik appointed as mentor in The Hundred
After the RCB success, Dinesh Karthik has been called for the international league The Hundred, which is a 100-ball tournament hosted by the ECB. Karthik takes up the role of batting coach and mentor for the London Spirits.
He will be working under his RCB colleagues, MO Bobat and Andy Flower, who also hold the same position in the London Spirit side as they did in the IPL. MO Bobat as the Director of Cricket, Andy Flower as the head coach, and DK as their batting coach and mentor.
“To spend the English summer working at Lord’s is truly a dream come true,” said Dinesh Karthik
London Spirit’s director of cricket, Mo Bobat, who is also the Director of Cricket for RCB, went on to welcome Dinesh Karthik and said he was looking enthusiastic to work with the players and the other support staff.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome DK [Dinesh Karthik] to London Spirit. He is a truly original thinker in our game, and his vast experience in short-format and franchise cricket will be invaluable to us. He’s also great fun to work with and brings an infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything he does.”
Dinesh Karthik also expressed enthusiasm to work in the league, but seemed more excited to work with the team at Lord’s. “What an exciting time to be joining London Spirit!,” Karthik said.
“To spend the English summer working at Lord’s is truly a dream come true. It is the ground where I made my debut for India, and I played my last Test match-Lord’s is very close to my heart. I can’t wait to see the squad come together and to work with some exceptional cricketers next year,” he added.
Dinesh Karthik became the first Men’s player of Indian origin in overseas leagues
Dinesh Karthik ended his international career with 180 matches for India and an extensive record in the IPL. After an illustrious career, he became the first cricketer of Indian origin to star in overseas leagues, like the SA20 and the ILT20 in Abu Dhabi.
Karthik, who plays for the Paarl Royals and Sharjah Warriors, will be one of the few coaches from India to coach in overseas tournaments now. Previously, the likes of Sanjay Bangar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh have coached teams in the CPL, BBL and the PSL as well.