“Dinesh Wasn’t Happy”: Rohit Sharma Once Revealed How Dinesh Karthik Got Angry With Vijay Shankar’s Batting Promotion During Nidahas Trophy Final

Winning the Nidahas Trophy in 2018 was one of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket team’s history. Wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik hitting a six on the final ball of the match to seal a victory for India is still fresh in the fans’ minds. However, the decision to send all-rounder Vijay Shankar ahead of Karthik had received a lot of criticism.

Current India captain Rohit Sharma was leading the team in the absence of former captain Virat Kohli. Sharma said that he wanted someone like Karthik to bat in the end as he was an experienced campaigner. Sharma’s decision was not taken well by Karthik and he was angry with his skipper. Karhik came to the crease when batter Manish Pandey got out on the last ball of 18th over.

Sharma had revealed that Karthik was expecting to bat ahead of Shankar as he was in good form going into the match. Although the thought process of the captain proved to be right towards the end, the match could have gone either way. We all have seen what Karthik is capable of as a finisher.

Rohit Sharma Once Revealed How Dinesh Karthik Got Angry With Vijay Shankar’s Batting Promotion

Talking to the reporters, Sharma had said that Karthik was staring at him when he went inside the dressing room. Shankar’s innings was a terrible one and he was one of the reasons why the match went so deep. He scored 17 (19) and was constantly mistiming the ball. India required five runs to win on the last delivery, and Karthik smashed a maximum.

“Dinesh [Karthik] wasn’t happy with his batting position in the final match. I sent Vijay Shankar to bat at the No. 5 as I wanted an experienced player to bat down the order,” Rohit Sharma had told reporters.

“Thus, I wanted Dinesh to take them on in the final overs. When I got out and I came into the dressing, Dinesh was staring at me angrily.”

Ahead of IPL 2022, Karthik recalled the Nidahas Trophy where he described what he was thinking when he came to the crease. He was adamant that he had nothing to lose and just had to smash the deliveries. The keeper showed nerves of steels in that match as hitting a six on the very first delivery after coming at a crunch situation is no mean task.

“Two overs and 34 runs – as a batter you are thinking ‘how many boundaries can I hit?’ That is exactly what I was thinking, got lucky with a few shots and as they say, the rest is history,” Dinesh Karthik had said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

India needed 34 runs off the last two overs and Karthik blasted 22 runs in the 19th over with the help of two fours and two sixes. Shankar was struggling in the last over as well, but India came victorious in the end. For scoring 29 (8), Karthik was awarded the Player of the Match trophy.