IPL 2022: Dinesh Karthik is 'that rock' of the side, says RCB's Mike Hesson

Indian Premier League (IPL) side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has revealed that when South African stalwart AB de Villiers decided to quit the team and announced his retirement at the end of the 2021 season, the team was taken aback. But the way wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has shaped up this season, he has become "that rock" of the side. "DK (Dinesh Karthik) has probably been that rock. When you miss a guy like AB (de Villiers), we talked about how you are going to replace AB and now we are not doing that, but he (Karthik) has been exceptional in terms of finishing," said Mike Hesson, RCB's director of cricket operations, on RCB Bold diaries before the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens here later on Wednesday. The last few games played by RCB witnessed their batters putting up a fine show while their much-talked about top order sprang back to life in the last league game against Gujarat Titans. With the team keeping its hopes alive of making it to the final, Hesson felt that a collaborative effort from Virat Kohli, skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell helped the side tame the Titans.

He added that Karthik had been ably supported by Shahbaz Ahmed and Mahipal Lomror, while Rajat Patidar had also been in good touch in the handful of games that he has played. "I believe Rajat Patidar is an unsung hero. He came in as a replacement; he played some really important innings for us. He is a guy whom we would like to see how he develops in the next couple of years. "Mahipal has also been impressive. He came in a little bit late. He had an initial injury and then came back. He had to wait. By this time, he has come back and added some spark," Hesson said about RCB's explosive middle-order