“They will test him out with the short ball” – Dinesh Karthik warns Shreyas Iyer

Dinesh Karthik has warned Shreyas Iyer ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand. He said that the Kiwi bowlers might test him with short balls after the batter departed off that delivery in his last two outings for the Men in Blue.

For the uninitiated, Iyer was out hit wicket while trying to counter the bounce in the second game. On Tuesday, he was caught in the slips off another short delivery in the third T20I. The right-hander failed to make an impact in the T20Is, scoring 13 and a duck in the two games.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik said:

"Another three ODIs to come, and they will test him out with the short ball. Another three opportunities to showcase how you can be good against the short ball.”

Karthik, though, has backed Iyer to bounce back strongly and display his match-winning abilities in the ODI series, saying:

“If I were Shreyas Iyer, I wouldn’t read too much into it the dismissals, and knowing him personally, he isn’t going to because that’s one of the reasons why when he gets going, he’s able to win matches for you."

He continued:

"In the recently concluded South Africa series, they had four gun-fast bowlers, and then he came out and scored a hundred not out. So, that shows that it isn’t a major problem.”

Karthik, though, added that Iyer needs to make slight adjustments to overcome the issue:

“Yes, when you travel abroad, there are a few adjustments that you need to make, but the beauty about him is that when he gets going, he wins you matches and that you need to always place a lot of weightage on. If I was Shreyas Iyer, I’ll keep moving with the wave."

Iyer amassed 189 runs in three games, including an unbeaten 113 in the recently concluded series against South Africa. He also scored 161 runs in three ODIs in Zimbabwe and will look to extend his purple patch in the 50-over format.

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“I feel bad” – Dinesh Karthik on Sanju Samson

Karthik said that he feels bad for Sanju Samson and other players who were unable to get a chance in place of Rishabh Pant, who failed to make an impact in the T20I series.

He added that the left-hander has delivered in Tests and ODIs, so he has been provided a longer rope to succeed in the shortest format. Karthik's statement comes after Samson didn’t get a chance to play in the T20I series and Pant failed to deliver in both games as an opener, scoring six and 11 respectively.

The Delhi batter also departed cheaply in the T20 World Cup, scoring three and six in two games.

Pant vs Samson in 2022 (T20Is average)

Pant – 364 runs in 25 T20Is @21.41

Samson – 179 runs in six T20Is @44.75

Samson, meanwhile, last played a T20I for India during the West Indies tour. He scored an unbeaten 30 and 15 runs in two games.

Karthik said about Pant:

“He plays all three formats, and he’s kind of player, when he gets runs, he will look really good because he plays a million-dollar shot a lot of the times. You look and go, Wow! Like – What a shot that was? He’s gonna get three ODIs and then followed up by, obviously, gonna play in Bangladesh. So, he gets a lot more opportunity than these guys.”

He continued:

“So, sometimes the other guys might not get that opportunities, and I feel bad for them, but that’s where Rishabh Pant needs to make that step in, and you know, move forward with his T20 cricket.”

Samson, though, is likely to play in ODIs against New Zealand owing to his impressive record in the last ODI series against South Africa, scoring 86*, 30* and 2* respectively.