Former England captain Michael Atherton took a sly dig on Dinesh Karthik for give a “five minute lecture” to Virat Kohli during one of the strategic timeout in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In a Sky Sports podcast, Atherton asked RCB’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik: “Before the final, I predicted that if RCB won, you would be right at the front holding the trophy, which turned out to be true, and Virat Kohli was right at the back, but you won the trophy. And secondly, in that final, what I noticed was, in a strategic timeout, you spent a long time telling Virat Kohli what to do. He was at the crease and you spent a long time, I saw you there, pointing at him, and I think he was out the very next over, after your five-minute lecture. Tell me what you said to him.”Dinesh Karthik couldn’t control his laughter and replied: “This is probably the hardest question I’ve been asked on a podcast. The first part, at least, I can manage.”“The second part, I’m trying to think, without getting scarred for my life, I need to say the right answer.”The former India wicketkeeper shot back at Atherton and asked, “What did you think I was telling him, considering he got out the next over?” To which the ex-England skipper said: “Well, I don’t know. I just thought, what is this man telling one of the greatest batters that has ever walked the earth? What can he possibly be telling him? And then I thought, whatever he told him didn’t work, because he was out the very next over.”Karthik still laughing then said: “I really don’t have a memory of whatever I said.” Nasser Hussain, former England captain and the third member of the podcast took a potshot on Karthik and said: “I think it’s the first time ever that you haven’t got an answer. You’re silent.”
