New Delhi: Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has said that Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik will bank on his nearly two decade experience to make an impact in his debut season in the SA20 2025. Following his decision to retire from international cricket and IPL in May, Karthik signed with Paarl Royals to participate in his first overseas franchise tournament.

The 39-year-old has played over 400 T20 matches for a span of 18 years, having accumulated 7407 runs in 356 innings at a strike rate of 136.96, including 34 half-centuries. He made 4842 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with his last appearance was for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Karthik hasn’t played any form of competitive cricket since his last IPL match against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024. De Villiers, who has played with Karthik at Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and RCB in IPL, believes the Indian player’s experience of playing in South Africa will be enough for him to perform well.

“The last time I watched DK (Dinesh Karthik) play he was still in great form. Back-to-back seasons in RCB, he has been batting well, he’s been batting well and winning games at the backend. Don’t know how much cricket he’s been playing in last few months. With all experience he has and having played in South Africa before. I think he is going to do really well,” de Villiers responded to a News9 query in a virtual media........

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