Team India will look to bounce back when they take the field against Bangladesh on Wednesday at the Adelaide Oval after losing by five wickets to South Africa in the ongoing Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper-batter, had some injury concerns going into the game after leaving the field in the final few overs of the contest against South Africa owing to back discomfort.
In a news conference on the morning of the game, head coach Rahul Dravid gave an update on Dinesh Karthik. “He has pulled up really well today. Unfortunately, he had a spasm when he jumped to collect the ball and he landed badly and landed in a way that he did his back a little bit. But, with treatment, he has pulled up really well, and he has come to training. We will be assessing it and we will see how it goes. We will put him through his paces and ensure we have given him a good workout and see how he goes tomorrow morning and we will take a final decision,” said Dravid.
Only 6 runs from 15 balls were scored by Karthik against South Africa. Therefore, there are certain issues with his physical appearance. Talking about Karthik’s form and performance, Dravid said: “You know it is tough to assess with someone like DK on how he has gone, you don’t get to play many balls. He faced just one ball in the backend of the game against Pakistan, he did not bat against the Netherlands. We thought he sort of built a really good partnership with Suryakumar Yadav against South Africa, we needed that.”
“It was set up for him, but again that is the nature of the game, you play a high-risk shot and you can get out doing that. This is why you need to be supportive as much as we can in this format. Batting at No.5 or 6, you do not get that many balls to face, and you don’t have much time to settle in. Our job is to support the players and come the time, they are ready to play those shots in crunch situations,” he added. Bangladesh is now in third place in Group 2 with the same number of points as Team India, who are currently tied for second place. With 5 points, South Africa now holds the top spot.