‘Remember MS Dhoni saying that split captaincy doesn’t work in India: Dinesh Karthik
Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik believes that split captaincy will not work in India and he recalls what MS Dhoni has said regarding the same. Karthik spoke to ICC ahead of the Sri Lanka Test series against India. He praised Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and believes that Rohit Sharma is the man.
“A cricketing country like India needs one captain. It is very easy to deal with one captain for all three formats. I remember MS Dhoni saying that split captaincy doesn’t work in India that well. We haven’t had that over a period of time, so we wouldn’t know. But at this point in time when I do see it, I think he (Rohit) is the man”, Karthik said in the latest episode of the ICC review series.
‘Every time he touched something; it’s turned to gold’
Rohit Sharma will captain India for the time in the longest format of the game on Friday. Sharma recently took over the captaincy from Virat Kohli in all three formats. Karthik went on to say that every time Rohit Sharma has touched something, it had turned to gold and he has won all the series convincingly so far.
“Every time he touched something; it’s turned to gold. All the series he has been a part of, he has won convincingly,” he said.
India enter this series after a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka in the T20Is. Talking about the series, Karthik said that he was really impressed with the way Sharma had taken up the role and how he gave the chances to youngsters and added that he is doing a lot of things right.
“He has shown a lot of tactical nous in the games that he has played. Moved the bowlers around really well, giving confidence to the batters and when they’ve won a series, giving opportunities to the young guys. Sometimes taking a backseat, batting in a position where obviously he has not batted there for a long time. So, he is doing a lot of things right,” he said.
“Rohit understands failures well”
During the T20I series, India had multiple debutants and they went on to do well. Karthik pointed out the same and said that it doesn’t happen always and appreciated the way Sharma has handled things.
“The good thing is, there have been 2-3 debutants in his captaincy and all have done well. And that doesn’t happen always. It’s great to see that happening and he is somebody who is a people’s person. He understands failures well. So, it is very nice that he is taking the team forward,” stated Karthik.
Karthik, who has played under Sharma for both India and Mumbai Indians, said that Sharma always surprised him with his bowling changes. “Just as an example, the way he chooses to take DRS. The way he speaks to people and then he makes the decisions. It’s very interesting the way he has always thought. I remember when I played quite a lot under him and I’ve always been surprised with the decisions he takes in terms of bowling changes. The way he marshals his troops.”
Karthik pointed out that Sharma’s clarity in the way he answers everyone stands out and mentioned that Sharma is always aware as a captain.
“And when I do ask him, he’ll give a very clear answer and answer it with a lot of clarity, which I’ve always enjoyed. Being a captain, he is always aware. I have been very impressed when on the field he’s told me to do some things, and exactly that has happened within the next two-to-three balls. I have been like, ‘Wow!’. You need some foresight for that to happen and I’ve always enjoyed that, whenever he is the captain,” Karthik concluded.