Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), chasing a huge total in Sharjah, lost the match against Delhi Capitals by 18 runs on Saturday. KKR captain Dinesh Karthik was in the middle of things for poor decision making. Fans on social media also called on KKR management to replace Dinesh Karthik with Eoin Morgan as the team captain.
Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to two IPL wins as captain, was also unhappy with certain decisions Dinesh Karthik made in the match. Gambhir criticized Karthik for handing the penultimate to Varun Chakravarthy. The spinner gave away 20 runs in the over after being cheap in the first paid games for the side.
Your best bowlers need to hit the 18th, 19th and 20th: Dinesh Karthik
“Your best bowlers need to pass the 18th, 19th and 20th, unfortunately it didn’t happen. Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine: If a roulette has to go bowling. Even Mavi did a fabulous job in the previous games and so did Andre Russell. You have to give your best bowlers, ”Gambhir said on the ESPNCricinfo chat show.
“Yes, Varun Chakravarty bowled well in the first overs, but you can’t expect a young spinner to play on the 19th and that in Sharjah too, it was probably a miscalculation,” he added.
Gambhir was one of the most sought after Indian players when he was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2011 and handed over the team reins to him. Gambhir not only brought out the best in his players, but also helped the franchise to achieve success in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
KKR has also gone for a balanced side than a star-studded lineup. But their initial success came in 2012 after they got the IPL trophy. The franchise was seen as one of the most consistent, as they achieved their second title in 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir was part of the KKR franchise until 2017.
