IPL 2023: Indian Premier League, RCB is facing the brunt of not scoring middle order runs consistently. Despite a good start in the match against KKR, RCB lost the match by 21 runs. The biggest reason for RCB’s middle order not clicking is the flop of star wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik. Last season’s hero Karthik has proved to be a zero in IPL 16 so far and questions are being raised about his presence in the team.
Actually, Dinesh Karthik was bought by RCB in the 2022 mega auction by placing a bet of 5.5 crores. In terms of age, placing such a big bet on Karthik had come under the scanner. But Karthik gave such a great performance that he was the talk of the town. However, Karthik has not been able to carry forward the performance of last season in this season.
RCB has the highest expectation from Karthik to score runs in death overs. In this case, Karthik is proving to be the biggest flop. In death overs, Karthik has scored runs at an average of just 10.60 and a strike rate of 136 during IPL 16. Whereas in 2022, Karthik scored runs in the death overs at an average of 83 and a strike rate of 207.
Karthik’s place in the team is at stake
Karthik overall is proving to be a failure in this season. In 8 matches, Karthik has scored only 86 runs with an average of 12 and a strike rate of 131. Karthik’s best score during this period has been only 28 runs. In this season, Karthik has been able to hit only two sixes.
In 2022, Karthik dominated because he scored 330 runs in 16 innings of 16 matches while remaining not out 10 times. In 2022, Karthik averaged 55 while the strike rate was 184. In the last season, Karthik managed to hit 22 sixes. It is clear that if Karthik does not score runs in the remaining matches, then it will be very difficult for him to remain in the team for the next season.