'When you realise that's a battle you can't win, you need to move on': Dinesh Karthik's huge 'IPL' remark on India star
Dinesh Karthik spoke in detail about the Team India star following the latter's brilliant performance in the first Test against Bangladesh.
Team India were in total command at the end of Day 3 of the first Test against Bangladesh on Chattogram, as it set the hosts a mammoth target of 513. After bowling Bangladesh out on 150, India enjoyed another impressive outing with the bat as Shubman Gill (110) smashed his maiden Test century, while Cheteshwar Pujara (102*) also ended a long wait for a three-figure mark in the longest format.
Pujara brought his century in 130 deliveries, which is also his fastest in Test cricket. He hit 12 fours en route to his knock and while Pujara took 87 balls for his first fifty, the senior Indian batter hit his next half-century in merely 43 deliveries. Naturally, fans were pleasantly surprised with Pujara's quick run-scoring in the innings; however, India's senior wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that it was a situation-based innings from the 34-year-old India player.
When asked if Pujara's knock is timely as the IPL auctions are scheduled for next week (Pujara is not part of the auction), Karthik insisted that the India batter seems to have moved on from the thought of participating in the cash-rich league.
“To be fair, I don't think he has any keenness on playing in the IPL. He has tried over a period of time, and he realises that it's not his cup of tea. He is spending a lot of time during the summer in England, honing his skills and playing his cricket. At this stage of his life, it's not about trying to prove a point. It's about where do you enjoy playing, and where do people enjoy the fact that I bat this way. He is very well aware of those answers, and that's not the IPL for him,” said Karthik on Cricbuzz.
“That is going out in the summer and playing for England. He enjoys doing that. He takes his family along, and credit to him, as he has found a niche for himself there. That's what you need to progress as a cricketer. When you realise there's a battle you can't win, you need to move on to other battle. And he has gone on to that path,” Karthik further said.
