Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik’s repeated failures with the ball in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 led to heavy criticism among the cricket fraternity who have been questioning his selection in the playing XI in the tournament.
After Virender Sehwag, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was critical of Karthik's approach during India's five-wicket loss to South Africa in a T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match on Sunday (October 30), as the keeper took 15 balls to make only 6 runs in Perth.
The cricketer-turned-politician further said that Karthik should have more clarity when he bats in the middle overs and should not just focus on doing the finisher's role, but being an experienced cricketer, he should play according to the situation and show some confidence on the field.
Gautam Gambhir told Star Sports: “What is Dinesh Karthik's problem? If he gets a lot of balls to face, he is not able to figure out the tempo at which he has to bat. If he gets just 10-`12 balls, then there is clarity in his mind. He is then able to take on the bowlers. If there are 7-8 overs remaining, then he doesn't have clarity over whether he should rotate the strike or block.”
The commentator further noted, “With the experience that Dinesh Karthik has, it's important that he figures out the tempo and the time to attack. He can attack any bowler, he has all the shots in the book. He is a finisher too. But there are situations when your team is 5 down in the first 10 overs, then does he have the temperament to bat accordingly and build a partnership, go at run-a-ball and give yourself a chance to attack the bowlers at the death.”
He signed off by saying, “He got out at the wrong time. But even if you had looked at him before that, he didn't look confident during that knock. He didn't have any tempo to his batting. Neither did he rotate the strike nor did he play confident shots.”
