Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni blaming his captain R Sai Kishore for the team’s Ranji semifinal loss to Mumbai hasn’t sat well with former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Karthik slammed the TN coach for making Sai Kishore the scapegoat following Tamil Nadu’s defeat to Mumbai in the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament.
Kulkarni had said, “We lost the match at nine o’clock on Day 1. We should have bowled, but the captain had some different instincts. The moment I saw the wicket, I knew exactly what we were going to get. Everything was set; we won the toss. As a coach and Mumbaikar, I know the conditions well. But I can only lead a horse to water; I can’t make it drink.”
Karthik, who played for Tamil Nadu, was offended by the remarks and used the five thumbs down emoji to show his disapproval on social media.
Karthik wrote on X, “This is so wrong. This is so disappointing from the coach. Instead of backing the captain who has brought the team to the semis after 7 years and thinking it’s a start for good things to happen, the coach has absolutely thrown his captain and team under the bus.”