Veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik is disappointed with Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni’s statement blaming captain Sai Kishore for the loss in the semi-final of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season. Tamil Nadu lost by an innings and 70 runs at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai.
Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore chose to bat first in the semi-final on a bowler-friendly surface. The Mumbai bowlers made the most of the conditions on offer. They bowled Tamil Nadu out for 146 runs. In response, the hosts took a lead of 232 runs. Tamil Nadu again faltered in the second innings and got all out for 162 runs. Speaking post-loss, Sulakshan Kulkarni expressed that the captain decided to bat first, which became a reason for their loss.
Dinesh Karthik, took to ‘X’ to support the Tamil Nadu captain Sai Kishore. He wrote,
“This is so WRONG This is so disappointing from the coach ..instead of backing the captain who has brought the team to the semis after 7 years and thinking it’s a start for good things to happen, the coach has thrown his captain and team under the bus.”
This is soo WRONG
This is so disappointing from the coach ..instead of backing the captain who has brought the team to the semis after 7 yrs and thinking it's a start for good things to happen, the coach has absolutely thrown his captain and team under the bus
👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽 https://t.co/Ii61X7Ajqs
— DK (@DineshKarthik) March 5, 2024
We lost the match at 9 o’clock on day one: Sulakshan Kulkarni
Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni expressed that he wanted to bowl first in the semi-final given the nature of the surface. However, he added that Sai Kishore had a different instinct. Speaking to the press, following Tamil Nadu’s loss in the semi-final against Mumbai, Sulakshan Kulkarni said,
“I always speak straightforwardly — we lost the match at 9 o’clock on day one. The moment I saw the wicket I exactly knew what we were going to get. Everything was set, we won the toss, as a coach, as a Mumbaikar, I know the conditions well. We should have bowled but the captain had some different instinct.”
“When I saw that they had played on a different pitch in the quarter-final and what wicket they gave, (that) moment I realised that this is a seaming-friendly wicket and it was going to be a very tough match, we would have to play really well to win this game. Ultimately he (Sai Kishore) is the boss. I can give my feedback and inputs (on) the kind of wickets and Mumbai’s mindset also,” he added.
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