"Don't think they will have great things to say" - Dinesh Karthik feels senior Indian players must take onus of Test series loss to New Zealand
Former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik opined that senior cricketers must take responsibility for the Test series loss at home against New Zealand. He asserted that, knowing the players personally, they will have no qualms in admitting that they let the side down.
India went down to New Zealand by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune. Before that, they were thumped by the Kiwis by eight wickets in Bengaluru. As a result of the twin losses, India suffered their first Test series loss at home in 12 years.
Discussing India's poor showing in the Test series against New Zealand, Karthik said that the loss was a consequence of senior players not putting their hands up. Speaking to Cricbuzz, he said (as quoted by PTI):
"Yeah. Why shouldn't it (the onus of the series loss) be the senior players? They will look at themselves and say, 'What could we have done better?' I don't think they have run away from it.
"If you can celebrate the highs and the fans enjoy how important they are, when the team wins, then when the losses happen, and the brick bats are thrown at you, I think they will have the courage to face it," former India stumper added.
Karthik asserted that that the experienced players in the team would definitely put their hands up and admit that they were not at their best in the series. He said:
"If you go and ask each one of them personally, what they think of the series, I don't think they will have great things to say about how the whole team played, and it is only but fair to ask them questions about what can be done better for future of Test cricket in India and for Indian Test cricket.
"So, knowing them personally, and I do know each one of them personally. They will say that they didn't have the best series. The question then becomes what do they need to do to get better and it is a very, very current question to ask," he added.
Chasing a target of 359 on Day 3 in Pune, India were bowled out for 245 as Mitchell Santner picked up 6-104 to go with his first-innings figures of 7-53.
How India's seniors fared in the first two Tests against New Zealand
Skipper Rohit Sharma has scored 62 runs in four innings in the series against New Zealand, while former captain Virat Kohli has contributed 88. Both batters have crossed the half-century mark only once.
Among bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have picked up only six wickets each in the two Tests. Jadeja has an average of 37.50, while Ashwin is averaging 43.50.