Former Indian Wicket keeper batter Danish Confirms playing in the SA20 (South Africa T20 league) next year. Karthik had recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. However, he will show up again and play for the PAAR Royal in the SA20. PAARL is the sister franchise of Rajasthan Royals-Indian Premier League. He will be the first Indian to play in SA20.
After playing IPL season 2024, Danish was still fit and had a successful season playing for the RCB but still decided to hang curtain on his career.
In an interview after the season, Danish yielded that he still had a year cricket left in him and could have gone on to play IPL season 2025 but decided not to.
After the tournament Karthik was named batting coach and mentor of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Commenting on playing for SA20 he said that it was an opportunity he couldn’t decline.
He added “I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa, and when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals,”
Karthik has played all the seasons of IPL since its first edition in 2008 but he has never played for Rajasthan Royals.
He said “Even though I didn’t have the chance to represent the Royals in the IPL, to me it was always a franchise setup and environment that was very attractive as a player. I am delighted to be joining the PAARL Royals team which oozes a lot of experience, quality and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season,”
The Royal’s Director Of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, said that Danish has been one of modern day greats for Indian White ball cricket. His rich international experience with Indian Team and in the IPL will immensely benefit the PAAR ROYALS in Season three of the SA20.
Danish will Join the PAAR ROYAL in third season, that is captained by David Miller. Miller led the PAARL to semi-final in the first season. In the second season the team lost the Eliminator. The Third season of the SA20 will be played from January 8 to February 9 in 2025.
Karthik after retiring from international Cricket took on the role of cricket commentator. Currently, he is commentating in ‘The Hundred’ tournament in England for sky sports. karthik was also announced as the brand ambassador for the SA20 league yesterday.