'Neither Did He Rotate Strike Nor...': Gautam Gambhir Slams Dinesh Karthik For Poor Batting Display
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir feels Dinesh Karthik doesn't have the temperament to bat according to the situation and build a partnership.
Dinesh Karthik form: Team India lost its first match in T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday after South Africa defeated them in a low-scoring thriller at Perth Stadium. For India, apart from Suryakumar Yadav, no other Indian batter could find runs as they were blown away by the sheer pace of South Africa's bowling attack. Dinesh Karthik, who made an inspiring comeback to the national team, in particular struggled to score runs and was dismissed after scoring just 6 runs off 15 balls. So far, Karthik's performance in the World Cup has been below par, leading to fans and pundits calling for Rishabh Pant's inclusion in the team.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir feels Karthik doesn't have the temperament to bat according to the situation and build a partnership.
"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," Gambhir said in an interaction with Star Sports.
"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 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," added Gambhir.