Dinesh Karthik surprised by Shreyas Iyer calling India’s batting ‘terrible’ and ‘terrible’: ‘He should be angry’
Shreyas Iyer He has been under increasing pressure after a difficult start to his tenure as India’s T20I captain. Since taking up the position, he has yet to record a first win with a defeat to Ireland and England Which raises questions about the team’s performance. Iyer, who was not part of India’s last two T20 World Cup-winning teams, was given the captaincy after building an impressive captaincy record in the IPL. He guided Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings to the finals of the Indian Premier League, lifting the title with Kolkata. These achievements have created high expectations, but his international leadership is yet to achieve the same success, with India still searching for answers after a series of disappointing results.
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik He also questioned Iyer’s post-match comments, saying it was unusual for a captain to publicly criticize his batting unit so strongly after a defeat. Karthik felt the language used by the India skipper reflected frustration within the camp after another disappointing batting display.
“Yes, India were not batting well. This was probably one of the worst batting performances in a long time. But it was interesting, and perhaps strange, you could say, for the captain to come out so strong in the batting unit. He used the word terrible to describe their batting, and he used the word terrible as well,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Since taking charge of the team, Shreyas has also struggled with the bat. In his last five innings, he has managed just one half-century, and that knock came in a match that eventually ended. He was unable to make an impact in the 202-run chase against England either, leaving for just five runs.
Meanwhile, the former wicket-keeper-batsman also threw his support behind Shreyas, saying the India captain’s frustration was understandable in light of the recent results. However, Karthik stressed that Iyer remains a vital part of the batting line-up and said India’s fortunes will improve once the skipper starts contributing consistently with the bat.
“You can see how upset he is, a bit annoyed, he must be angry, which is understandable, but knowing Shreyas Iyer, he has to come back because he is a key member of that batting unit, and if he scores, the team looks different, as we saw with PBKS (Punjab Kings). He is a crucial component of that batting system as well,” Karthik added.
“What happens to Team India?”
Speaking about India’s recent struggles, Karthik admitted that he was surprised by the sharp decline in the team’s form. The former wicketkeeper-batsman wondered how the world champions could slide into such a poor run and felt India should have been able to chase down the target despite the conditions.
“What is happening to Team India? We have lost four of the last five matches. We are world champions at the moment. Maybe the pitch was a bit slow, but you expected the score to be 200 runs, but we felt India could have gone after that,” he added.
