Dinesh Karthik Reflects On Virat Kohli's Challenges With Spin In Sri Lanka Series

Virat Kohli's performance in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka saw him average 19.33, marking his lowest in seven bilateral ODI series against the team. The star batter was dismissed LBW to spin in all three matches.

The rare consecutive failures of Kohli became a major talking point after India faced their first bilateral ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997. In the final match, Kohli was out for 20 as India was bowled out for 138 while chasing a target of 249.

Dinesh Karthik, a former teammate of Kohli at both India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), defended the star player by highlighting the difficulty of playing spin at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

"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 about 8 to 30, it's been hard work. It's nothing to worry about," Karthik told Cricbuzz.

Karthik further elaborated on why Indian batters often struggle when transitioning from domestic to international cricket. He noted that players initially face more quality fast-bowling at the international level.

"When you first end up playing international cricket, you end up playing a lot more quality fast-bowling. But the truth is, when every team ends up playing three fast-bowlers, and at times, four of them with just one spinner or sometimes two, we play on slow turning pitches, which doesn't happen too often," he explained.

"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 added.

Karthik also mentioned that as players focus on facing fast bowlers in international cricket, their ability to handle spin bowling may diminish over time.

"So, when you come from domestic cricket and go into international cricket, you focus on playing fast-bowling and hence, it is understandable of players losing their quality to play spin bowling over a period of time," Dinesh Karthik opined.

Dinesh Karthik is set to become the first Indian cricketer to participate in the SA20 league in South Africa. His insights shed light on the challenges faced by Indian batters and provide context for Kohli's recent struggles against spin bowling.