Team India's 2022 T20 World Cup campaign came to an agonising end as Rohit Sharma's men suffered a thrashing at the hands of the Englishmen as England registered a resounding 10-wicket win in the semi-final at the Adelaide Oval. Expected to win the title, India once again faltered in the knockouts, a movie that has now stretched from 2013 to 2022, and the drought for an ICC trophy continues.
Since India's unceremonious ouster, several pundits and fans have lashed out at Indian players after a horrendous display in the semi-final. The staunch followers of Indian cricket have also hinted that now is the time to make significant changes in order to build for the future and learn from mistakes.
What came as surprise for several fans and experts was that the Men in Blue didn't use the services of their best spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and T20 specialist Harshal Patel in the ICC multinational tournament. Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the Indian squad in Australia, has now revealed the reason behind the team management's decision to not play the duo even in a single game.
"Both those guys are the only ones who haven't played a single game in the tournament. But they did not sulk, they were not upset. At the start of the tournament, they were told that under these certain conditions we will be playing you, otherwise it will be hard for us. So, they were aware and they were preparing in such a way that whenever they get an opportunity, they will be giving their best," said Dinesh Karthik on Cricbuzz.
"I think when that clarity is there from the coach and the captain then it makes your job very easy as a player. You start looking inwards that what you need to do and if at any stage those guys would have got the opportunity, then they would have definitely given their best. There was no sulking and no negative energy in the team environment and that's the best thing you expect," he added.
Team India is currently involved in a three-match T20I series against New Zealand. The first game of the tour was called off without a ball being bowled on November 18 (Friday) as rain played spoilsport.
