“Rohit was very kind to Shardul and Pras”Rohit was very kind to Shardul and Prasidh,” Dinesh Karthik said of the Indian seam duo’s lackluster performance in the opening Test.idh,” Dinesh Karthik said of the Indian seam duo’s lackluster performance in the opening Test.

India fell behind South Africa 0-1 in the two-match series after losing the first Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion, by an innings and 32 runs. South Africa amassed a mammoth 408 in the first innings thanks to a magnificent century by Dean Elgar (185), and the Rohit Sharma-led team could only muster 245 and 131 in the two innings in response.

In the aftermath of India’s defeat, wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik took a sharp swipe at Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna, who did not offer Jasprit Bumrah any assistance during the match. In response to a question on their performance, Karthik stated that although Thakur had appeared in earlier series, he had given a mediocre performance this time.

It is evident that Shardul and Prasidh need to improve. When he said, “They’re young bowlers,” Rohit was really considerate of them.

Shardul, however, attended the prior series as well. He did not do too badly. But it was a rather ordinary performance this time. As a young bowler, Prasidh Krishna appears to lack a great deal of first-class experience. He was giving away far too many boundary balls. In Test cricket, lack of control is never a positive indication, as Karthik stated on Cricbuzz.

He went on to say that India had really missed Mohammed Shami’s skills, as he had been forced out of the series with an ankle injury. He included Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as well, who were excellent as second or third seamers in the past.

This Indian assault isn’t the same without Shami present: Karthik

India takes great pleasure in its bowling assault, which has improved over the past few years. But you could see that this Indian attack is not the same as it was before Mohammed Shami left. Prior to him, there were Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav. They offered us length consistency at least, which was severely lacking today as well,” Karthik continued.

In the meantime, the second Test, which starts on Wednesday, January 3 at Newlands, Cape Town, will give India an opportunity to rally and even win the series. Notably, in their nine attempts to win a series, India has only been able to draw one Test series in South Africa in 2010 under the leadership of MS Dhoni.