Karthik too feels the heat

Written By Nikhilesh Pathak | Updated:

India may have registered an impressive 170-run victory in Galle Test against the hosts Sri Lanka, but it was a pretty ordinary outing for the wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.

AHMEDABAD: India may have registered an impressive 170-run victory in Galle Test against the hosts Sri Lanka, but it was a pretty ordinary outing for the wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik. Karthik has often fumbled, during the match and series, and experts feel it is time that he makes way for Parthiv Patel, who has been waiting in the wings for quite some time.

Former India stumper Kiran More felt Karthik is low on confidence. “This happens in every cricketer’s career. It is up to the management to decide. Either give Karthik a more moral-boosting chance or bring in fresh Parthiv for the final frontier,” former chief selector said.

According to Dhiraj Parsana, it is now very essential for Parthiv to stand behind the wickets in the crucial final Test in Colombo starting Friday. “Dinesh has made basic errors. At times he has let the bowlers down. If he continues in the decider it will harm the moral of bowlers,” Parsana said.

In the first innings, Karthik conceded as many as 10 byes besides missing a stumping chance. Also the gathering was very sloppy. Karthik looked confused while keeping against the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble.

On few occasions ball flew past Karthik even after kissing his gloves or his pads. Life wasn’t easy when ball was moving in the air. Karthik failed to gather regulation deliveries from Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan cleanly.

Clearing the clouds of odd bounce, he said there was nothing wrong in it. “It was ideal pitch for all the departments,” he said. Second innings was same old story as he dropped Tillakaratne Dilshan on 16. He also helped Sri Lankan cause, giving away byes.

Criticising the management, former India captain DK Gaekwad observed that it was high time that coaches give special attention to keepers. “Failing in his basics can’t be pardoned. There were major lapses in his wicket-keeping. He has to improve on his technique drastically. I think it is work of the management to sort out such technical faults,” Gaekwad said and added, “Coaches should also check his (Dinesh’s) mental toughness or give someone else a chance.”

However, it is difficult to say whether Kumble will change the winning combination. “Dinesh might get one more chance,” he said.

Karthik in Sri Lankan series
M Runs HS Ave St
2  36 20 9 4