Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik has asserted that Orange Cap, which is awarded to the highest run-scorer of IPL, is one of the silliest awards to give.
According to Karthik, the players who impact the game most in T20 are finishers and not the players who open the innings for a franchise. Karthik stated that players like Kieron Pollard or Andre Russell make a lot of impact in the game but can never have as many runs as regular openers like Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul. Rahul, the skipper of PBKS, won the Orange Cap in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Speaking to Aakash Chopra, Dinesh Karthik said:
“I think the Orange Cap is one of the silliest awards to give away in the IPL. They (the organizers) could think of it in a much better way. Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell would never win the Orange Cap because they would not get the runs a Rohit Sharma or a Quinton de Kock or any other opener gets.”
“What they would do though has influenced a lot more matches with their batting than the openers during the course of a season. We are still in that number of runs and that kind of thing. But (in T20Is) it comes down to that impact things,” said Karthik to Chopra while talking on his YouTube channel.
Dinesh Karthik will return to action during 2nd half of IPL 2021
Dinesh Karthik, who is currently busy in the UK with his commentary stint, will return to action during the second half of IPL. The second phase is scheduled to commence on September 19 in the UAE.
On the international front, though the wicketkeeping-batsman hasn’t played for long with India, he believes he can mark his comeback when given a chance.