Strike rate doesn’t matter in Test cricket: Dinesh Karthik

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has praised Indian Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, saying that strike rate does not matter in Test cricket. He said that he is one of those people who has been a supporter of Pujara for a long time and feels that talk of strike rate in Test cricket is meaningless.

Talking about the strike rate on Twitter space session organized by Star Sports ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Karthik said, “If you take the number of Test matches that ended in four days, it is around 80 or 82”. Percentages are there, so why worry about the strike rate. As long as Pujara is able to win Test matches for India, let him play at whatever strike rate he wants. You have to understand. If you take the last match, he was playing against England, where the team was finding it difficult even to score 200 runs. In such a situation, it is unfair to expect 100 runs from Pujara.

The wicket-keeper batsman said, we have played in some difficult conditions. You can’t always decide the numbers to prove how well a player is playing. If you take that Sydney test series, it is exactly what Aakash Chopra said. Pat Cummins was talking to me about that in the IPL. He was saying that the difference between India drawing and losing a Test match was one man, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Karthik also talked about the captaincy style of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson during this. We can call it fire and water, he said. Virat is fire, Ken is as cool as water. Even when 32 runs are needed in an over, Williamson smiles as if everything is too easy. On the other hand there is Virat. If you make a mistake, he will not spare you. It’s a whole lot of fun to play with, however, they both have completely different styles.

It is noteworthy that Dinesh Karthik is included in the commentary panel for the WTC final between India and New Zealand in Southampton starting June 18.