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Dinesh Karthik becomes first Indian to join SA20, to play for Paarl Royals in 2025 season

Dinesh Karthik becomes first Indian to join SA20, to play for Paarl Royals in 2025 season

Dinesh Karthik becomes first Indian to join SA20, to play for Paarl Royals in 2025 season

Dinesh Karthik is all set to become the first Indian player to feature in the SA20 2025 after an announcement was made on Tuesday (August 6). Karthik, who is one of the best of his generation won the 2007 T20 World Cup and is renowned for his slog-hitting ability for India. He will team up with Paarl Royals in the 2025 season where Karthik will fill the shoes of Jos Buttler who withdrew from the tournament.

Karthik to feature in SA20

Having called time from his Indian Premier League (IPL) career after last season, Karthik worked with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as their world feed commentator during the T20 World Cup. He was unlikely to return to on-field competitive action, but with Buttler unavailable for the upcoming season, an approach was made for the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) man. On Tuesday, he took to his social media platform to confirm the decision.

At 39, he still is one of the best slog hitters and was included in the Indian team for the 2022 T20 World Cup. There were in fact chances of Karthik being called up to the Indian team for the 2024 T20 World Cup where India emerged victorious.

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What happened to Buttler?

The England white-ball skipper has opted not to participate in the SA20 owing to workload issues. The SA20 is likely to take place in January which could collide with England’s warm-up fixtures before the 2025 Champions Trophy.

“Hi everyone, Jos Buttler here. This is a message from all Paarl Royals fans. Disappointed that I would not be coming back to the SA20 this year. There are some England games on that’s where all my focus will be there. So yeah, it’s a shame that I won’t be coming back to the tournament,” Buttler said in a statement.