Dinesh Karthik finds Shreyas Iyer’s remarks ‘Odd’ after India’s batting collapse against England

India’s struggles in T20 cricket continued as another disappointing batting display handed England a commanding position in the five-match series. Chasing a challenging target in the third T20I, the visitors failed to put up a fight and crashed to one of their heaviest defeats in the format, leaving captain Shreyas Iyer visibly frustrated after the match.

‘Losing by that margin is not acceptable’: Karthik

India were bundled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs while chasing 202, suffering their biggest-ever defeat in T20 Internationals in terms of runs. The result also meant Iyer is still searching for his first victory as India’s T20I captain.

The skipper did not hold back while assessing his team’s performance and admitted the players must quickly learn from the defeat.

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“It was atrocious. Losing by that margin is not acceptable. First things first, we have to accept the loss and go back to the drawing board,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The defeat gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series after the opening game was washed out. The fourth T20I will be played in Bristol before the series concludes in Southampton.

Dinesh Karthik surprised by Iyer’s remarks

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik felt Iyer’s assessment of the batting unit was unusually harsh, although he understood why the captain reacted the way he did after such a one-sided defeat.

“Yes, India did not bat well. Probably one of the worst batting performances in a long time. But it was interesting, maybe odd, you can say, for the captain to come down quite hard on the batting unit. He used the word atrocious to describe their batting; he used the word awful as well,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Despite the criticism, Karthik believes Iyer remains one of the most important players in India’s batting line-up and expects him to lead the team’s response in the remaining matches.

“You could see how disgruntled and a little upset he was, and he must be angry, understandably so. But knowing Shreyas Iyer, he has to come back because he is such a key member of that batting unit that when he scores, the team looks different, as we have seen with PBKS (Punjab Kings). He is such a critical component of this batting order as well.“

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Questions grow over India’s recent form

India’s recent record in T20Is has raised concerns despite winning the 2026 T20 World Cup. Since lifting the trophy, the team has suffered two defeats each against Ireland and England, with one match ending without a result.

Karthik admitted he was surprised by India’s sudden dip in form and felt the chase against England was well within reach.

“What’s happening to Team India? Four of the last five matches have been lost, and we are the world champions at the moment. The pitch was probably a little slow, but you expected 200 to be the par score. We felt India could have, and should have, chased that down,” Karthik said.

With England already securing the series, India will now be desperate to bounce back in the remaining two matches and avoid ending the tour on an even more disappointing note.