"Most of the seniors have had a break" - Dinesh Karthik on if Indian players were mentally tired during Boxing Day Test vs South Africa

Veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes India's disappointing performance in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at Centurion was not because the players were tired.

Rohit Sharma and Co. went down without a fight in the first Test, losing the contest by an innings and 32 runs after being bundled out for 131 on Thursday, December 28. Karthik opined that, having taken a break after the 2023 World Cup, the senior players would have been fresh coming into the series.

Speaking to Cricbuzz following India's biggest Test defeat on South African soil, Karthik said:

"I do not think it is the case of them being tired mentally. When you look at how the World Cup went, it was a massive success, barring the final. Post that, most of the seniors have had a break and have not played any of the bilaterals. They would be pretty fresh."

The cricketer-commentator further highlighted that India must address its middle-order woes in the red-ball format. He opined that the side needed more firepower in their fast-bowling attack:

"I do not think it is about not being ready for red-ball cricket. I would definitely put it down to lack of skill. There are certain areas which are a gaping hole in the current Indian team. The two big areas for me are the third and fourth medium pacers and middle-order batting."

"This is not the Indian team that we are used to (seeing). This is not the kind of standard that they have set over period of time where they have gone and competed in Australia and England. This Test match was one where South Africa completely dominated us from ball one," he added.

Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged a four-wicket haul, the other bowlers failed to make a significant impact. The same was the case with the team's batting, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli being the only standout performers, scoring 101 (1st innings) and 76 (2nd innings), respectively.

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"The bowling looked very ordinary" - Dinesh Karthik on India bowlers

Dinesh Karthik seemed unimpressed by the Indian bowlers' effort in the recently concluded Boxing Day Test. He suggested that the visitors were ordinary in that department.

The 38-year-old mentioned that the Men in Blue will have to improve their game, especially in overseas conditions like South Africa, elaborating:

"It was shown to the world that there is still a long way to go in these kinds of conditions, be it with the bat and more so with the ball as well. You can complain about the batting, but the bowling looked very, very ordinary at different points of time."

The second and final Test of the series will be played at Newlands in Cape Town from January 3 to 7.