“I don’t know what Carse was doing” - Former cricketer brutally trolls England batters in IND vs ENG 2025 4th T20I
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen tore into Harry Brook and Brydon Carse for their shot selection leading to their wickets in the fourth T20I against India in Pune on Friday, January 31. The 44-year-old stressed the importance of winning games and closing out the matches while citing the example of former Australian great Michael Hussey.
The remarks came after Brook and Carse departed off Varun Chakravarthy’s bowling in the same over when they needed 58 off 36 balls with six wickets in hand. Brook departed soon after hitting a boundary off Chakravarthy. Carse then miscued one to deep square leg, throwing the match in India's hand after three deliveries.
Kevin Pietersen said on Star Sports:
“Guys that wanna build great legacies in the game of cricket. Close games out like that. You have to look at the Mike Hussey's of the world, some of the great finishers, and some of the greatest One Day batters that’ve played [the game].
"They finish cricket games for their country and their team. And unfortunately, tonight, Harry Brook just came and stuck there. I don’t know what Carse was doing… he needed to get through a couple of deliveries from Chakravarthy and England threw the game away.”
Pietersen further addressed how the England batter has been dismal against the spinners in the T20I series. The reaction came as the right-hander departed to Chakravarthy for the third time in the fourth game.
“The innings was fantastic. I was on commentary when he came out to bat. I said he just needs to be busy. His footwork wasn’t too accomplished when the dismissals that he had so far in the series, three poor dismissals, three really weak dismissals and he’s a much better player than that. He’s a player that has energy, he’s got excitement, he hits the ball all around the park."
"Yes, we should be talking about the innings but unfortunately when you get to 51, PP you’ll know, we all know that he’s sitting in that dressing room now with his hand in his head saying, ‘Why did I give the game away’,” he added.
“At the end of the day you have to win games” – Parthiv Patel echoes similar sentiments as Kevin Pietersen on England’s batting
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel also slammed the shot selection by England batters in the fourth T20I. He pointed out how Brook played it into the hands of India by trying to be too aggressive against Varun Chakravarthy. The cricketer-turned-commentator said:
“Yes, absolutely, I think it’s very difficult to understand, yes you want to play a brand of cricket, yes you want to play that entertaining brand of cricket but at the end of the day you have to win games."
"You’ve to understand that situation and that’s exactly what Harry Brook and he hit boundary just before that ball. So, that’s where the game was in his hand, he just had to knock it around but these things do happen. I am sure, he’ll learn from this and probably come out stronger.”
Pietersen, however, reckoned that Brook would learn from his mistake since he was a youngster. He concluded:
“He’s a young, man, he’s a kid. What is his number there, 23? [25]. I think he’s a kid, they gonna see him for the next 10 to 15 years so I think that he’ll take this as a learner.”
India and England will next lock horns in the fifth and final T20I at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. The Men in Blue have already sealed the series by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.