IPL 2020: ‘It was an off day for Pat Cummins,’ Dinesh Karthik defends his KKR teammate

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Dinesh Karthik defended his teammate Pat Cummins after their loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Wednesday at Abu Dhabi, explaining it was “an off-day for him”.

A lot of hype surrounded Cummins after the KKR management bought the numero uno bowler for Rs 15.5 crore to secure his services.

Dinesh Karthik defends Cummins, praises Mavi

Cummins ended the innings leaking 49 runs in 3 overs after he was hit all over the park by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Subsequently, he became the subject of criticism on social media due to his huge price tag.

However, captain Dinesh Karthik jumped to his defence pointing out the Australian was in quarantine as he had arrived late.

Karthik said, “I think it’s unfair to judge him right now. He is just off quarantine. Literally, it was 3:30, 4 is when he got permission to come and play the match itself. We are just happy to have him. I don’t think this is a game where we need to judge him at all. He is a world champion bowler. He is one of the best going around in the world. I trust him and I am sure he will come goo.,”

Karthik, however, was impressed with the performance of young Indian pacer Shivam Mavi, who returned to the IPL after missing the previous season with an injury.

Mavi picked up 2 wickets and was economical in his 4-over spell.  “Upfront, he [Mavi] was really good. Poor guy, missed out of an injury last year, he is looking forward to the competition. He is shaping up well and that’s a good sign for KKR,” Karthik said about him.

ALSO READ|IPL 2020: Rohit Sharma becomes second Indian to slam 200 sixes in the tournament