The Balancing Act: How Karthik and Southee Navigate the Juggle

Dinesh Karthik has barely paused this year. After playing for Paarl Royals in the SA20, he switched to his batting-coach role with Royal Challengers Bengaluru from March to June, and is now part of the ILT20 with Sharjah Warriorz. In between, he continued his growing commentary commitments.

Tim Southee's calendar has looked similarly layered. Since his last international appearance for New Zealand in December 2024, he began 2025 playing the ILT20 for the Warriorz, had a stint with Birmingham Phoenix at The Hundred, and sandwiched between was a role with the England coaching staff for their Test series against India. He has returned to the Warriorz for ILT20 2025, and will soon take up duties with Kolkata Knight Riders as their bowling coach.

As modern cricket increasingly blurs the lines between players, mentors, and tacticians, Southee and Karthik have found themselves at the heart of this new hybrid space. Their seasons have been packed with matches, coaching gigs, and commentary boxes—a rhythm they've come to embrace.

"We're very lucky to have the best of both worlds, to still be able to play this game that's given us so much but also have opportunities to give back in a different way in coaching as well. So, yeah, I've enjoyed both. To be able to jump in and out of each from playing to coaching has been very enjoyable over the last 10 or so months," says Southee in a select media interaction on the sidelines of ILT20 2025.

Karthik's version of balancing roles has looked different from Southee's. "Look, in my case, I haven't played as much as Tim. Let's start there, he obviously played in The Hundred. It's a tournament that I didn't play. I was in a different role then. I was busy judging how he was bowling there. So, I had a completely different outlook towards that tournament," says Karthik, who also recently played for India in the Hong Kong Sixes.

"But all I can say is I played quite a competitive tournament in SA20 and when I played there, I realized that I still enjoy playing a little bit and that's why I wanted to continue playing. So, it was important then to understand what it takes for me to get fit. So, I did what it was in Chennai and during my time doing a little bit of commentary as well. Making sure the body is in shape and then the cricket part of it, as I said, I've had a few sessions back home in India and then a few sessions here and I think I'm in a decent space and good to go," Karthik adds.

Karthik and Southee are part of a fast-expanding group of senior players who are blending active playing careers with coaching and mentorship roles. Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have done it for some time now, Andre Russell has just stepped into coaching after leaving KKR, and several domestic circuits now actively encourage player-mentors.

With T20 leagues proliferating and teams seeking continuity across seasons, this dual-role phenomenon is becoming part of cricket's evolving professional structure—where players nearing the twilight of their careers transition gradually rather than abruptly.

Karthik acknowledges the privilege in being able to do both. "First of all, I think I can speak for myself and maybe a little bit for Tim as well. To get an opportunity to coach as you are playing is not something everybody would be blessed with. So, I think we should be grateful for that. It is a call that we all hope we get and we were lucky enough to get. That's the truth. But if you can definitely make the transition from playing to coaching in a smooth manner, definitely.

"JP [Duminy] is a great example. He's someone who's played the game for the longest time in a serious manner and then got into coaching and he's done a good job wherever he's gone so far. So, he's young in his coaching career as well and I think this question holds good for him. But the fact that we're playing and still coaching tells me that we've been lucky to have been given the opportunity to coach and help a few young boys out wherever we do.

"I do it in the IPL. Tim is doing it for an international team. He's joining an IPL team soon enough. So, it's a blessing to be fair because, as I said, it's not easy but it's great that people feel that we can add some sort of value to a team that we would be associated with," adds Karthik.

Meanwhile, for a head coach like Duminy, having two senior pros who also think like coaches is an asset. But more than tactical inputs, they help shape the culture of a team.

"The way I look at it is, how do you leverage, in a sincere way, the relationships and the expertise that you have in the room? I look at not only these two, but a few others as well, that they bring uniqueness in that they have the experience," says Duminy, head coach of the Warriorz in the ILT20.

"They both possess some sort of secret sauce in the game. And how do you bring that out? How do you bring that into the pool and the pot of this environment that can influence this environment to be the best that we can be? And at the end of the day, it's really about anyone dropping egos when they come into this team environment and really say, how can I serve this environment?

"And how do we foster an environment that is really about growth and development? And that's not shortchanging the idea of effort and competitiveness on the field. I've no doubt that these two will compete heavily. They all want to win. We all want to win. But it's just about extracting the secret sauce and making sure that it filters through the team so that we can all be the best version of ourselves," Duminy adds.