"There's something wrong with the way we are approaching" - Dinesh Karthik on India's brand of T20 cricket
Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes India need to move on from their conservative brand of cricket if they want to become a force in the T20I format.
Karthik's comments came after the Men in Blue lost the second T20I of their three-match series against Sri Lanka in Pune by 16 runs on Thursday, January 5. While they suffered a defeat, the Tamil Nadu gloveman was impressed with the way they tried to go hammer and tongs from ball one.
India lost their top-order cheaply as a result, but 'DK' feels the idea to go hard upfront in a run chase of 207 was the right one.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the game, Dinesh Karthik tried to explain the reason for India's trophy drought in ICC events. He said:
"We haven't won a World Cup since 2011. We have the best T20 league in the world. We boast of the best players, the most skilled players and bench strength, then the results should show right?
"If it's not the case then there's something wrong with the way we are approaching it maybe and that needs to change."
India is playing aggressively under Hardik's captaincy. This is the need of the hour.Young players awaited their chances to play fearless cricket.
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Dinesh Karthik wants India to make a 'habit' of playing fearless cricket
Dinesh Karthik was part of India's 2022 T20 World Cup squad that crashed out in the semifinals, suffering a 10-wicket defeat against eventual champions England.
Karthik claimed that Jos Buttler and Co. beat the Men in Blue because they had a habit of playing fearless cricket even on the biggest of stages. India, meanwhile, have only managed to do it in bilaterals, but not in ICC tournaments.
Again I am amazed how pedestrian India start in T20 cricket with the Bat .. #ICCT20WorldCup
On this, he stated:
"Rohit Sharma did a vailant effort to change the way we play and in the bilaterals leading to the T20 World Cup, we did play the way we wanted.
"But we then went to Australia and while we felt that the wickets there weren't suited to this brand of cricket, there came England and played the entire tournament the way they have always played.
"This is because they have the habit and until we make that a habit for ourselves, it is not going to come suddenly in one big game."
It will be interesting to see if India continue to bat the way they did despite the loss in Pune when they take on Sri Lanka in the decisive third and final T20I. The two teams will clash at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium on Saturday, January 7, with the series level at 1-1.