Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni blaming his captain R Sai Kishore for the team’s Ranji semifinal loss to Mumbai hasn’t sat well with former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Karthik slammed the TN coach for making Sai Kishore the scapegoat following Tamil Nadu’s defeat to Mumbai in the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first on a BKC pitch that appeared green, Sai Kishore was criticized by Kulkarni for causing Tamil Nadu’s batting collapse, which resulted in them being bowled out for 146. Mumbai responded with a sizeable 232-run lead thanks to Shardul Thakur’s explosive century, which took them to 378. TN’s second-inning response was abysmal, as they were dismissed for 162, losing the match by an innings and 70 runs.
“We lost the match at nine o’clock on Day 1. We should have bowled but the captain had some different instincts. 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. But I can only lead a horse to water, can’t make it drink,” Kulkarni had said.
Karthik, who played for Tamil Nadu, was offended by the remarks and used the five thumbs down emoji to show his disapproval on social media.
“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 absolutely thrown his captain and team under the bus,” Karthik wrote on X.
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