"Indian batsmen facing mental issue.."- Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik and Harsha Bhogle joined in a conversation where Harsha asked Karthik about India not being able to manage high totals over 400 and 500. India and England are playing a five-match Test series which is currently levelled at 1-1 with the hosts losing the first Test in Hyderabad but then making a strong comeback after winning the second Test in Vizag by 106 runs.

Harsha Bhogle asked Dinesh Karthik why Indian batters are not batting long enough in Indian conditions as it has been a long time since India posted a mammoth total in India, especially against the likes of Australia and England. They did not post a mammoth total against England in the 2021 tour also. Dinesh Karthik dissects further on this issue during the chat between him and Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz.

“First things first, I wouldn’t put it as a worry only because if they were getting out technically and you don’t have time to improve on that then it becomes a problem. I think it’s a mental issue here their coach is one of the greatest examples of what it means to play long and do all of that so I’m sure that he is giving them advice and at a point a little frustrated as well. He and Vikram Rathour might be thinking why are we collapsing and losing wickets in heaps in Test cricket?” Dinesh Karthik said on CricBuzz.

“Definitely a point for them to ponder about, I don’t want to use the word worry because I would be worried if they were not batting well. They are getting set, they are playing and then they are giving away wickets to balls which they definitely shouldn’t be,” he added.

Watch- Dinesh Karthik Dissects The Mental Challenge Faced By Indian Batters

#India have stitched 11 half-century stands but none of them have gone in excess of 90 😱

Where are #RohitSharma & Co. going wrong❓@bhogleharsha & @DineshKarthik discuss, on #CricbuzzChatter #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/RO9WIkFEDz

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) February 9, 2024

Dinesh Karthik talked about how most of the players in the current Test squad have played a lot of white-ball cricket and hence they have a lot of shots in their arsenal. He said that with a lot of shots comes a lot of dismissals but he still was sceptical because of the way Indian batters were getting out over soft dismissals against the run of play.

Dinesh Karthik added, “The one thing that we need to understand, is a lot of these players play white-ball cricket hence they have a lot more strokes, so they will play a lot more shots and with shot-making comes the natural fact that you will get dismissed a lot more.

Understandable, but for me they are getting out to soft dismissals as they call it you know the things they call against the run of play nothing much happening, falling to the fields of play. Overall, yes they are a team that is capable of putting 450/3 or 500/5 sort of scores but they are not doing anything close to that.”

India and England will face each other in the third Test of this five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot and it will be a great opportunity for both sides to take a lead in the series. The five-match Test series is currently levelled at 1-1 with India winning the second Test in Vizag after suffering a defeat in the series-opener in Hyderabad.

In the last 12 years, India has not lost a single Test series at home and holds a dominant unbeaten streak of 16 consecutive Test series wins at home. The last time India lost a Test series at home was back in 2012 when England defeated India by 2-1 under the leadership of Alastair Cook. The third Test will commence on February 15, Thursday.