Dinesh Karthik has played for several franchises in the IPL. Since IPL 2018, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has been associated with the two-time winners KKR and has observed Bollywood superstar and KKR co-owner Shahrukh Khan from close quarters.
In the past, many KKR players have lauded Shahrukh Khan for his man-management skills and the way he looks after the players relentlessly, going out of his way to take care of them and their families. Karthik recently recalled and shared a heartfelt incident how SRK won over him with his adorable gesture for the keeper-batsman.
‘I could do anything for him; he’s a terrific human being’
While speaking to Gaurav Kapur on his ’22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur’ podcast, the 36-year-old Karthik said, “There are not many large-hearted people like him in the world right now. And the world needs more people like him. Very genuine, he looks out for you. Whatever happened in my personal life, he flew people over from Chennai to Dubai on a private jet at his own expense for me.”
“I don’t know how many franchises would do something like that. But that for me was unbelievable, unreal. I didn’t expect it. I had never sat on a private jet in my life. But just the fact that he was able to do that for me and he just completely won my heart over. I could do anything for him; he’s a terrific human being,” he stated.
SRK, despite being the biggest name in Bollywood for several years, remains grounded and is also well versed with the gentlemen’s game and how much pressure a cricketer has to deal with in the high-voltage IPL league. Thus, the superstar actor always makes it a point to interact with the franchise’s players to encourage and make them feel special, in a bid to extract good performances from them on the field.
When Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier, etc. had been contracted with Covid-19 in the first leg of IPL 2021, SRK had reportedly interacted with the infected cricketers and lifted their spirits.
As of Karthik, he will audition for Team India’s finisher’s slot in the second leg of IPL 14, which will be followed by the T20 World Cup in the UAE.