​’Would be very surprised’: Dinesh Karthik reveals if Andy Flower will leave RCB to join England Test side as head coach originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Dinesh Karthik believes Andy Flower is unlikely to leave RCB for the England job.Flower’s pre-signed IPL contract would force him to miss several England Tests.The ECB has confirmed no formal approach has been made to any candidate yet.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe scramble to replace Brendon McCullum as England’s Test coach has produced one overwhelming favourite. Andy Flower, the most successful England coach of the modern era, has been backed by everyone from Nasser Hussain to Michael Vaughan to return and repair a side in freefall.There remains one considerable obstacle, and it sits some 5,000 miles away in Bengaluru. Flower is contracted to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, whom he has guided to back-to-back IPL titles, and prising him away may prove far harder than English cricket hopes.Dinesh Karthik, who worked alongside Flower during RCB’s title-winning 2026 campaign, has now offered an insider’s verdict on the likelihood of that move. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former India wicketkeeper was complimentary about the man but sceptical about the outcome.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE: Andy Flower linked with England Test coach job and potential implications for RCBKarthik left no doubt about Flower’s suitability for the role, even as he questioned whether the appointment is realistically achievable given the coach’s existing workload across the franchise circuit.”In all seriousness, I think he’ll be a great candidate,” Karthik told Sky Sports. “He definitely should be one of the names thought of, but I would be very surprised if he took it, considering where England are and his packed schedule as well.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe former India batter pointed directly to the contractual complication, noting that Flower has already committed to RCB and that fulfilling both roles would inevitably mean missing England fixtures at inconvenient moments.”With Andy Flower, with an already pre-signed contract with RCB, which would mean that he would miss parts of all those Tests,” Karthik said. “Will it be okay for England in the preparation for the Ashes if they don’t have a coach for a Test match or two?”He also flagged a specific scheduling clash on the horizon, one that would arrive at precisely the wrong moment for a coach attempting to rebuild a Test side ahead of a home Ashes. “I heard there’s a Test match against Bangladesh in May next year, and if Andy Flower is doing RCB, that could be a challenge as well,” he added.Andy Flower IPL(Sportzpics/BCCI)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE: Stephen Fleming’s CSK legacy: Every title won by the Super Kings franchise across IPL and other T20 leaguesKarthik expressed scepticism about reports suggesting the ECB would accommodate Flower’s IPL work,