After a disappointing start registering six consecutive wins, their hopes of a fairy tale season were dashed with a 4-wicket defeat to RR on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Before the players left the field, Karthik received an emotional guard of honor from his RCB teammates.

The official X handle of the Indian Premier League shared a heart-touching video of the moment after the match.

He also received a thunderous applause from his teammates and the fans present. The 38-year-old took off his gloves and thanked his fans, who were applauding the veteran with chants of "DK...DK...".

Although Karthik has not officially announced his retirement from IPL, if this season turns out to be his last, he will end his IPL career with 4,842 runs in 257 matches.

The wicketkeeper-batsman made his debut with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the inaugural season of 2008. He moved to Punjab in 2011 and later played for Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He scored 326 runs in 15 matches at an average of 36.22 and an impressive strike rate of 187.36 in the current season.