The Hundred: Dinesh Karthik appointed as mentor and batting coach of London Spirit

New Delhi: Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as the mentor and batting coach of the Hundred franchise, London Spirit. It will be his first support-staff role with a team outside the IPL.

Karthik is a prominent broadcast commentator and has played a similar role for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025 after ending his career in 2024. He is also an active cricketer and is currently playing for Sharjah Warriorz in the UAE's ILT20. Bobat is also the team director with the RCB, the current IPL champions.

Bobat welcomed Karthik to London Spirit and said that he is a truly original thinker of the game and has a lot of experience in short-format and franchise cricket, which will be invaluable to them.

"He's also great fun to work with and brings an infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything he does. The signing of another elite individual with significant stature in the game demonstrates our ambition and the importance we place on ensuring that our players receive the best possible support," Bobat added.

Dinesh Karthik also said in a statement that he's excited to join the London Spirit, and when he heard about the plans and ambitions of the franchise, he was really enthusiastic to join them.

"To spend the English summer working at Lord's is truly a dream come true. It is the ground where I made my debut for India, and I played my last Test match - Lord's is very close to my heart. I can't wait to see the squad come together and to work with some exceptional cricketers next year," Karthik added.

The London Spirit have not won the Hundred title in five seasons. Oval Invincibles lifted the trophy three times, while Trent Rockets and Southern Brave won it once. Karthik has played in 26 Test matches, 94 ODIs and 60 T20I games in a stop-start international career. He has featured in the SA20 and the ILT20 apart from the IPL.