KXIP vs KKR: All is not well? Skipper Dinesh Karthik has an animated chat with Kolkata teammates in Mohali
Karthik — who is known to keep his calm even during high-pressure situations — was seen lashing out at his teammates during the first strategic time-out in the KXIP innings.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Dinesh Karthik was pictured having an animated chat with his teammates during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Friday.
Karthik — who is known to keep his calm even during high-pressure situations — was seen lashing out at his teammates during the first strategic time-out in the KXIP innings.
Also Read: KXIP vs KKR, IPL 2019 Highlights: As it happened
Head coach Jacques Kallis was also present on the field when Karthik called his teammates into a huddle and expressed his displeasure about something. After the end of the match, Karthik revealed that he wasn’t happy with the bowlers and fielders and that is why he lost his cool in the middle.
“I wasn’t too happy with the what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time. It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe (when asked if people will get to see his angry side again in future),” Karthik said during the post-match presentation.
Social media users took note of the incident as well and were quick to point out at this ‘uncharacteristic behaviour’ of the KKR skipper.
All is seemingly not well in the KKR camp as earlier in the tournament, hard-hitting batsman Andre Russell spoke out regarding the bad decisions that has cost them in matches and the unhealthy atmosphere in the team.
“We have a good team but if you make bad decisions then you will always lose games and that’s what we’ve been doing. If we had enough time, I could pinpoint a few games where if we just looked to bowl tighter in areas or bring in right bowlers at the right time, we could have won,” Russell had said during a press conference.
“As a professional cricketer, to be in this position is not the most healthiest position. In terms of decision, we have been bowling wrongly at the wrong time, that’s what been causing for us to keep losing in simple ways,” he added.
When Karthik was put up a question regarding Russell’s outburst, he said: “It’s a high-pressure sport, a high octane tournament and you’ve got to make sure everybody’s in a great space, give them the best chance to do well and stay healthy. A lot of bickering and back-biting can go on in these sorts of situations. I’m very aware of it and make sure nothing like that happens.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a game. You play the best that you can. You need to keep a smile. You need to be nice to others. Everybody’s trying hard. I always believe that at the end of the day it’s a game. We all go back home and we need to be happy.
“I think they need to make sure they have a great experience playing with me. It shouldn’t be all about, ‘oh that guy was so bad when we lost’. I was very aware of that,” Karthik had said after KKR ended their six-match losing streak against Mumbai Indians recently.
