"Don't bother coming for the next" - Dinesh Karthik trolls Ravi Shastri while recalling last Test outing at Lord's amid ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik recalled how his Test career unceremoniously ended at Lord's during the 2018 tour of England. He was dismissed for 1 and 0 in the first and second innings, respectively, as Virat Kohli and co. crumbled to a humiliating defeat by an innings and 159 runs to claim a 2-0 lead in the series.

Dinesh Karthik had made a return to the Test team after a gap of eight years in 2018. He was run out for 4 in his comeback match against Afghanistan at home, and was selected for the England tour soon after. His ordinary scores in the series opener in Edgbaston, coupled with his poor outings at Lord's, paved the way for Rishabh Pant to make his debut midway through the series.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Podcast, former England captain Nasser Hussain revealed how he informed Duncan Fletcher that he was retiring after the Lord's Test against New Zealand in 2004. The former England captain capped off his career with a century at the iconic venue.

Dinesh Karthik noted that his Test career also ended at Lord's, but unlike Nasser Hussain, he did not have a say in the matter.

"Nasser finished in Lord's in 2004, and I also finished in Lord's. The only difference being that he went and knocked on the coach's door saying, 'I think I'm done.' in my case, the coach (Shastri) said, "Don't bother coming for the next Test, I think you are done,' Dinesh Karthik said.

Dinesh Karthik continued to play first-class cricket in the domestic circuit, and his last appearance in the format came for Tamil Nadu during the 2020 Ranji Trophy.

"I met him a few days ago" - Dinesh Karthik reveals conversation with Virat Kohli regarding captaincy amid ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Dinesh Karthik further revisited a conversation with former India skipper Virat Kohli, where he mentioned how captaincy brought out the best in him as a batter. He feels that the same applies to Shubman Gill as well, who has unlocked a new version of himself since assuming leadership.

"I met him (Kohli) a few days ago, and we were just chatting generally, and this topic about captaincy came up, and he said, 'You know people think I am a great Test cricketer and I enjoyed my Test batting, which I did, but the fact is that me getting my captaincy was the best thing to happen to my batting'," Karthik added.

Team India skipper Shubman Gill has piled 585 runs in just two Tests, which includes a double hundred and a couple of centuries. He is averaging 146.25 so far, and is on course to breach numerous records in the coming weeks.

Dinesh Karthik also touched upon Team India's delayed declaration in the second Test at Edgbaston, viewing it as a challenge thrown to the England batters, who backed themselves to chase any target set for them.

"The collapses from Leeds put so much pressure on them, you could almost sense that pressure being carried out even in the second Test, and I am pretty sure it's because of the way England bat that they were under so much pressure to think when do we declare against these guys? So they decided, geez, we don't want England to even think for a second that this target is gettable. So, they said not 500, but 608, now come after us," Karthik said.

India's target proved to be more than enough as they dismantled England for 271 in 68.1 overs across Day 4 and 5 to clinch a record-breaking 336-run win to level the series.