'Dinesh Karthik given a long rope. He should think about the trust put in him'

The concern surrounding Dinesh Karthik is growing with every match. The veteran India wicketkeeper, who was been drafted in this Indian squad for the T20 World Cup as the team's designated finisher, hasn't done much in the tournament so far with scores of 1 and 6. Against Pakistan, Karthik could have finished the game for India but was out stumped in the thrilling last over. Since India went on to win the contest, Karthik flew under the radar but questions surrounding his place in the side came to the fore again when he was dismissed cheaply against South Africa in Adelaide too. Given… Karthik's role in Sunday's Perth clash was not that of a finisher. He walked in to bat after India were five down, but with the rich 18-years of experience that he has of international cricket, it was expected of Karthik to partner the ever-so-in-form Suryakumar Yadav. But he consumed 15 balls to score 6 runs before getting out to Wayne Parnell. With pressure mounting on the 37-year-old, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha has urged the experienced Karthik to show more responsibility, such as the one displayed by South Africa's David Miller. Also Read - 'Play however you want, but I'm not dropping you': New Zealand legend's message for KL Rahul amid World Cup struggle "Dinesh Karthik, who was given a long rope and the trust was put on him, I think he should think about it. He is an experienced player; you want your senior-most players to come and deliver. That's what David Miller did for his side. We were a few runs short. If you looked at the South African batting, they had a very solid middle-order, they have been getting those runs," Ojha said on Sports Tak. The former India spinner feels the outcome of the result was the difference in both team's bowling. South Africa restricted India to 49/5 after which Suryakumar Yadav waged a lone battle, taking the total to 133. Similarly, India had a fabulous start with the ball as well, with Arshdeep Singh removing Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the same over and Mohammed Shami sending back South Africa captain Temba Bavuma. However, missing a couple of run out opportunities coupled by Virat Kohli dropping a sitter hurt India as both Aiden Markram and David Miller peeled off half-centuries to take South Africa home. "That's the difference because both the bowling units did their job. India should be pleased because the game went on till the last over and that's where it was decided. When you talk about batting, I felt very strongly that South African batters play to the situation and we did not play to the situation, apart from the middle-order," Ojha pointed out. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

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