Dinesh Karthik Slams Sulakshan Kulkarni for Throwing Captain Sai Kishore and Tamil Nadu Team 'Under the Bus'

Dinesh Karthik took to social media to come down heavily on Sulakshan Kulkarni for his comments blaming captain Sai Kishore after Tamil Nadu lost to Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

“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,” Dinesh Karthik posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni had blamed skipper R Sai Kishore for his decision to bat on a seaming wicket.

In what turned out to be a surprising call which prompted reactions including those from R Ashwin and Saurashtra’s Jaydev Unadkat, Sai Kishore put his side in to bat first on a seaming wicket which had Tamil Nadu reeling at 42/5 inside the first session.

Tamil Nadu could never recover as they were shot out for paltry totals of 146 and 162 in the two innings as Mumbai stormed into the final for the 48th time in the Ranji Trophy.

“The moment I saw the wicket I exactly knew what we were going to get,” Kulkarni told the media here after the match.

“When I saw that they had played on a different pitch in the quarterfinal 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.

“I always speak straightforward we lost the match at 9’o clock on Day One. 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.

“Ultimately he is the boss. I can give my feedback and inputs (as to) what kind of wickets and Mumbai’s mindset also. (From) 106/7, I knew before the match that this (Mumbai’s fightback) may happen.”

(With inputs from Agencies)