Dinesh Karthik criticizes Rohit Sharma's leadership in Pune Test
Former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has slammed Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the Pune Test against New Zealand. The criticism comes after India's first home series defeat in 12 years, as they lost the first two matches of a three-Test series against New Zealand. Despite a promising start in the first Test, India was outclassed by the visitors in the second Test.
Karthik questions Sharma's proactiveness as captain
Karthik was disappointed with Sharma's leadership in the second Test in Pune. He implied Sharma failed to match New Zealand's intensity and clarity, which eventually cost India the game. "Not at his best. I thought he had a very tough Test match, he did all he could," Karthik said on Cricbuzz. He went on to ask if Sharma was a reactive or proactive captain in this tough match.
Sharma's performance and response to series loss
Sharma's individual performance in the first two Tests was also under the scanner, as he didn't make a big contribution with the bat. Karthik observed that this Test match was one where Sharma appeared to be chasing the ball a bit. After the series loss, Sharma took a lighter tone in a press conference post-Pune Test, saying after dominating for 12 years, such an off-performance is permissible.
Sharma acknowledges team's collective failure
Sharma accepted the team's failure as a whole in the Test against New Zealand. "It's a collective failure. I'm not somebody who would blame just the batters or the bowlers," he said during a post-match presentation. He admitted that they didn't bat well enough to put runs on the board and despite restricting New Zealand to 250-odd, knew it was going to be challenging.
