IND vs SL: As Captain Or Coach, You're Not Thinking Much About Individual Glory - Dinesh Karthik About India's Declaration

Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik defended Rohit Sharma’s decision to declare India’s first innings while Ravindra Jadeja was batting on 175*, stating that the captain and coach have to think about the team first at all points.

Jadeja had played a splendid knock, taking India from a tough position at 228/5 to 574/8. In the process, he stitched three separate 100-run partnerships with Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami. The 175-run knock is also his career-best and the best-ever by an Indian coming in at No.7.

“When a decision like that is taken on a team front, you always feel that it is fine unless you are on 195-196. When you are on 175, it’s a different one altogether. When you are on 195-196, then you think twice.”

“Other than that, as a captain or coach, you are not thinking too much about individual glory. You are trying to think how much time do we have, how many wickets do we want to pick, and how much time do we want to give ourselves,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“It doesn’t come as a surprise at all” – Dinesh Karthik on Jadeja’s batting ability

Jadeja is quite underrated when it comes to batting. He has shown that he is capable of playing the long innings, testified by the fact that he has scored three triple hundreds in domestic cricket.

“Not many people realize that Jadeja’s credentials as a batter are phenomenal in Ranji Trophy. I cannot think of anybody who has scored three triple hundreds. When I see Jadeja bat, when I see what he has achieved today, it doesn’t come as a surprise at all.”

“He has taken off phenomenally since the 2019 World Cup. Towards the end, he was unstoppable at that World Cup and since then, he has not looked back. He has been a different player,” Karthik further added.

Jadeja’s knock has put India in pole position and it’s now up to the spinners to secure a huge first-innings lead for India.

Also Read- IND vs SL: I Would Like To Dedicate This Knock To My Brother-In-Law: Ravindra Jadeja After Scoring 175* vs SL in Mohali