I’m not going to defend Virat Kohli but playing spin was very hard in Sri Lanka: Dinesh Karthik

After a stellar showing in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, Virat Kohli once again featured for India after a short break. In the recent three-game ODI series against Sri Lanka, the ace batter did not look in his best form in the three matches that Kohli played in Colombo against Sri Lanka. 

After the first ODI was tied, Sri Lanka managed to register shock victories against India in the second and third ODIs by 32 and 110 runs, respectively. Virat Kohli’s performances in the Sri Lanka series quickly came under the radar after the ace batter only managed to score 24 runs in the first ODI. 

Furthermore, he followed it up with scores of 14 and 20 runs in the next two matches. Despite there being high expectations from Kohli, his performances saw the fans scrutinize him for the showings. 

Amidst the criticism, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik took center stage and opined that it is quite tough to bat in Sri Lanka. He did state that he was not trying to defend Kohli in any way, but the conditions in Sri Lanka can sometimes be too harsh for a batter. 

“It’s been a tough pitch to play spin in this series, let’s admit that first. Be it Virat Kohli, be it Rohit Sharma, or be it anyone else. With the slightly semi-new ball between overs of about 8 to 30, it’s been hard work. It’s nothing to worry about. Not too many pitches work that way, but it’s been a tough pitch to play spinners. I’m not going to defend Virat Kohli here, but I can tell you that playing spin was very hard,” Karthik told Cricbuzz. 

It is worth noting that Kohli had the chance to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of becoming the fastest batter in the world to score 14,000 runs in ODI cricket. However, he will now have to wait until January 2025 to cross the mark in the 50-over format.