IND vs NZ 2021: Shreyas Iyer And Venkatesh Iyer Won't Feel So Judged In This Dressing Room - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik believes that Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer be “judged” on the basis of one ordinary innings during the run-chase against New Zealand in the first T20I in Jaipur.

In chase of 165, India were cruising at one point, but the chase fell off the tracks for a while following dismissals of Rohit Sharma (48 off 36) and Suryakumar Yadav (62 off 40).

Shreyas Iyer played a scratchy knock of 5 runs from 8 balls, and debutant Venkatesh Iyer got out on his second ball after hitting the first for a boundary. Rishabh Pant, though, kept his cool to take the side over the line.

Dinesh Karthik asserted that under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, players would feel a lot secure as both the experienced stalwarts won’t let doubts seep into the players’ minds.

“Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer, the middle-order batsmen that didn’t look as good as they would have if they had played a long innings, won’t feel so judged in this dressing room,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“Both the coach and the captain have seen a lot of failures and that is the biggest advantage these boys will have in the dressing room. They’ll feel rather calm and they’ll know it’s just one game… Sometimes you can feel judged and you question that ‘Am I good enough for this level?’ I think those questions won’t be the ones they’ll answer so early. It will be a very calm and easygoing dressing room.”

You can’t fault Shreyas Iyer: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik spoke in defence of Shreyas Iyer, who holed out in the deep trying to attack Tim Southee, saying that the big shot and a boundary was the need at the point. The KKR wicket-keeper asserted that either Rohit or Suryakumar should have stayed till the end to complete the chase.

“You can’t fault Shreyas Iyer for doing it because at that stage you want boundaries. If it’s not there to be hit then you probably try and hit a cut shot, a flick shot, or a cover drive but your first instinct is to hit it for a six straight over the bowler’s head or over deep mid-wicket… If you have to go by results you can fault Surya or Rohit but if you go by process I think all of them played the right shots,” the 36-year-old stated.

India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against the T20 World Cup runner-ups. The second T20I is scheduled for Friday at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.

Also Read: New Zealand Tour Of India 2021: You Will Surely See Venkatesh Iyer Bowling, Says Suryakumar Yadav