IND vs AFG 2018: Dinesh Karthik hits back at Asghar Stanikzai’s comments on India spinners

Stanikzai had said that Afghanistan boast a superior spin attack than India despite a very little experience of first-class cricket.

Dinesh Karthik | Reuters

An unfortunate injury to Wriddhiman Saha has come up with a golden opportunity for Dinesh Karthik to make amends of his Test career. Saha’s broken thumb has put him out of commission for the one-off Test against Afghanistan and consequently the selectors shouldered the wicketkeeping responsibility to Karthik.

Ahead of the historic Test match in Bangalore, Karthik has hit back at Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai, who created quite a stir in the cricketing fraternity with his comments on India spinners. On Sunday (June 10), Stanikzai had said that his team boasts a superior spin attack than India despite a very little experience of first-class cricket.

“I don’t know what that person (Stanikzai) had said, but you have got to understand that we have got a lot of experience, not only in Test match cricket but also (in a) lot of domestic cricket, four day cricket,” Karthik quoted as saying by Sportstar on Tuesday (June 12).

“All their spinners put together wouldn’t have played that many matches that Kuldeep Yadav would have played in four-day cricket. Experience at the end of the day has a lot of value, as you saw with CSK in the IPL,” he added.

Nonetheless, Karthik feels the Afghans may well emulate their limited-overs success in the traditional format.

 “I am very sure that they would be better bowlers by the start of the next Test match than what they are now. The kind of improvement they have shown in white ball cricket has been phenomenal. There is no reason why they can’t do it in red-ball cricket. But I would say our spinners have a lot of experience and I would say experience can’t be easily bought,” Karthik said before adding: “I am sure their players will also vouch for that. I understand the statement he has made but I would not harp too much on that.”

After proving their mettle in white-ball cricket, Afghanistan along with Ireland were finally granted Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017. Ireland had already played their maiden Test against Pakistan last month.

Talking about Afghanistan’s inspiring journey, Karthik said: “It’s been a highlight for the ICC to have a Test nation in Afghanistan. Not many people knew Afghanistan play cricket but for them to come along so well, qualify for the World Cup and qualify for upcoming World Cup deserves a lot of credit.”

“Everybody knew what a tough place it is, and the turmoil it faces, but they are able to inspire people with their performances. They are playing big tournaments like IPL and their key players are producing big performances. Many countries can take this route and take the challenge and do as well as they can. It will be a fabulous story in the history of their country and any country,” he concluded.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 12 Jun, 2018

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