Dinesh Karthik, who has announced his retirement from Indian cricket on his 39th birthday on June 1, is all geared up to create history as he joins the Paarl Royals for the SA20 2025. It was only recently announced that he would be an ambassador for the league, along with AB de Villiers, and Karthik might turn out to be the first Indian player to feature in SA20.

The former KKR skipper brings a lot of experience, having represented India in 180 internationals apart from 257 IPL games in a total of 401 T20s. Karthik was hailed for his sublime fitness as he played all bar two games in his 17-season IPL career.

Replacing Karthik, following his retirement, was his moving over to a mentorship role where he was signed up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru as a mentor-cum-batting coach. Next to this coaching stint came his foray into commentary duties, where he is currently calling games in The Hundred 2024 for Sky Sports.

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This next step in his cricket journey will see him joining Paarl Royals as an overseas player, ESPNcricinfo can confirm, when the third season of SA20 gets underway on January 9. The Board of Control for Cricket in India permits retired Indian players to participate in international franchise T20 leagues.

🟢 SA20 NEWS 🔵

Dinesh Karthik has signed with the Paarl Royals for season 3 of the SA20

Looks like he will have a dual role as player and ambassador for the league pic.twitter.com/rGkLykdVg1

— Werner (@Werries_) August 6, 2024

This rule has also seen other former Indian cricketers in the like of Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina play for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League, while Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan feature in the ILT20 for Dubai Capitals.

A few years ago, Suresh Raina played in the Abu Dhabi T10 with Deccan Gladiators. Paarl Royals had recently announced their retentions for the upcoming season, which included captain David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, and Andile Phehlukwayo.

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The Royals reached the Qualifiers in the last SA20 edition but then suffered a set of setbacks, losing a nine-wicket defeat in the Eliminator against Joburg Super Kings. The franchise is an affiliate of the Rajasthan Royals, inaugural IPL champions. It is expected that Paarl Royals will look at strengthening their squad and doing better this season with the induction of Karthik.

Paarl Royals squad: David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dinesh Karthik, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dayyaan Galiem