Truth behind viral Jitesh Sharma video: India star wasn’t denied entry at Lord’s; in fact Dinesh Karthik was one who…

Dinesh Karthik cleared the air on viral Jitesh Sharma clip which claimed that the latter was denied entry at Lord's during 3rd Test

Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik on Wednesday cleared the air after a viral video on social media claimed he had come to the rescue of wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who was allegedly denied entry at Lord’s during the third Test. India lost the match by 22 runs, as England reclaimed the lead in the five-match Test series. The hosts had earlier won the series opener in Leeds by five wickets, before India bounced back with a record 336-run victory in Birmingham. England now lead 2-1 heading into the fourth Test in Manchester next week.

Dinesh Karthik cleared the air on viral Jitesh Sharma clip

The nail-biter in London drew plenty of attention, with hundreds flocking to the Home of Cricket to witness the action. Among them was Jitesh, who visited Lord's to watch the team in action against England. However, he found himself in an unexpected situation when a security official denied him entry.

In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Jitesh was asked to verify his identity at the security checkpoint, leading to a moment of confusion. To resolve the issue, he called Karthik, who was present at the venue on commentary duty. The former India wicketkeeper-batter stepped in and helped his RCB teammate gain entry.

However, Dinesh Karthik denied the claims, blaming social media for fueling the confusion. He clarified that it was actually he who had invited Jitesh to the venue. Karthik also pointed out that in the video, Jitesh wasn’t near the entrance to the ground, but was instead standing below the media centre.

“These are some issues with social media that a lot face. I invited jitesh to the comm box , he had come , and I came and met him down and took him to the comm box and he met everyone there. Btw this is below the media center , not the entrance to the ground.”

Earlier in the day, England were docked two World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over rate in the third Test against India. This saw England's tally fall from 24 to 22 out of 36 points in the WTC standings, consequently reducing their point percentage (PCT) from 66.67 to 61.11. Hence, England, who stood in the second spot after the win in London, dropped to the third spot with Sri Lanka, who have a 66.67 PCT, replacing them. Australia remain at the top of the table with 100 PCT, having whitewashed the West Indies in a three-match series. India, on the other hand, have 33.33 PCT, following their lone victory in the series in Birmingham.

In addition, the England players were also fined 10 per cent of their match fees. Ben Stokes pled guilty and accepted the sanctions.

"In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time," the ICC said in statement.

"In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, two World Test Championship points have been deducted from England's points total," it added.