Dinesh Karthik Unmasks RCB’s Loyal Fanbase: ‘They will Cheer my Name… Abuse me Silently in DMs’

Cric News India IPL News 2025

April 9, 2024 0 924

Dinesh Karthik, playing for Bengaluru this season, highlighted the passionate but sometimes toxic nature of the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fanbase.

In the world of cricket, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have probably the most loyal fanbase out of all the IPL franchises. However, veteran wicketkeeper-batter and now Bengaluru player Dinesh Karthik pointed fingers at the loyalty of the fans.

During a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Karthik elaborated on the ‘incredible’ yet ugly side of Bengaluru’s fan base. He went on to elaborate on the passionate and extremely supportive nature of the fanbase. “RCB fans are loyalists. They are actually family, and I say that in good and bad ways,” said Karthik, as quoted by News18.

“The good way is that when you go, no matter what happens, if I walk in, they will cheer my name and make me feel like I’m the greatest player on Earth. What I mean by that is that to the outside world, they will never give up on you. If there is a fight between say you know some team and they say, ‘Oh! X is not a good player’ they will pounce on that person,” added Karthik highlighting the immense support he receives.

Also Read: ‘Take the Aggressive Option…We Need Them Firing’: Coach Andy Flower Opens Up After RCB’s Slump

However, later, Dinesh Karthik shared that the same fan base would come down upon him if he lacked performance. He emphasised that those fans would not even hesitate to bring down his family while abusing him. “On a personal level, that same fan will abuse me silently in DMs every day, rather than on a one-on-one note. He will go hard at me if I don’t do well for RCB; he will smash me, not just me, my family, and whoever is possible in my life. But to the outside world, they will not give up an RCB player,” Karthik said.

Of the five matches the wicketkeeper-batter has played for RCB this season, the player has shown his skill with the bat, amassing 90 runs in four innings. Though Bengaluru is continuing with their slump by only winning one out of the five games in this season of IPL, Karthik has contributed significantly to the team and will be next seen facing the Mumbai Indians on April 11th.