Dinesh Karthik, in his brief stint thus far in the commentary box, has been largely hailed for his insightful comments and cheeky banter, but one particular on-air remark of his, during the second England-Sri Lanka ODI on Thursday, set social media ablaze for more than one reason.
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Karthik, who is still an active cricketer, is currently part of the Sky Sports commentary panel for Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour of England. He was part of the broadcast for the World Test Championship final, and has also been signed up for commentary duties during this year’s The Hundred.
On-air during England’s chase of 242 on Thursday, Karthik was speaking to his co-commentators about batsmen borrowing their teammates’ bats, when he brought out a rather peculiar analogy on live television.
The comment, heard during the 30th over of England’s innings, went like this: “Batsmen and not liking bats – they go hand in hand. Most of the batters don’t seem to like their bats. They either like another person’s bat or… bats are like a neighbour’s wife, they always feel better.”
The comment was so bizarre and sudden that many took to Twitter trying to make sense of Karthik’s seemingly tongue-in-cheek remark. There was some appreciation along the way from those who found humour in Karthik’s statement.
https://twitter.com/ADSutherland_/status/1410673588269637639
https://twitter.com/ADSutherland_/status/1410674479144046596
“Bats are like a neighbour’s wife, they always feel better”
Dinesh Karthik is currently getting talked too behind the scenes 😭
— TheCricketMen (@thecricketmen) July 1, 2021
Dinesh Karthik Actually said that in commentary
"Batsmen like others' bats, BATS are like neighbor's WIFE" 😳#ENGvSL #ENGvsSL
— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) July 1, 2021
@DineshKarthik take a bow👏🏻👏🏻 Brilliant commentary 😂😂 I can imagine @felixwhite and @gregjames applauding right now #tailendersoftheworlduniteandtakeover pic.twitter.com/SLD4kxIB2n
— Jon Moss (@Jon_Moss_) July 1, 2021
Dinesh Karthik just said that into a microphone hahaha fucking hell
— Tom Carpenter (@Carpo34) July 1, 2021
Just heard possibly the best line I've ever heard at a game of cricket by @DineshKarthik "bats are like a neighbours wife.. they always feel better" 😂😂 cracking up. Never go home DK 😂
— mike gardner (@Mickgards81) July 1, 2021
neighbour’s wife!! 😂😂@DineshKarthik is clearly not going home!#ENGvSL #cricket pic.twitter.com/B3QDBorcwu
— Kaushal Ekanayake (@kautheboy) July 1, 2021
Did @DineshKarthik just say “a new bat is like a neighbours wife, it just feels better” live on Sky….? 👀😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/zgHRYjo8Ib
— Andy Tute (@Tutey_151) July 1, 2021
Not everyone was impressed though. Karthik’s bizarre comparison was panned for being in poor taste, with some accusing the wicketkeeper-batsman of casually promoting “toxic masculinity” and “sexism”.
https://twitter.com/tinatengra07/status/1410839840678047744
Hello @DineshKarthik that neighbour's wife comparison yesterday on mic was absolute cringe. Expected better of you King.
— Sunny (@ewyikesed) July 2, 2021
@DineshKarthik Love your commentary and insights, but "batsmen prefer others' bats, its like neighbours' wives, they always feel better" was not cool at all.
— Avi Seth (@UnSethled) July 1, 2021
why is everyone hailing Dinesh Karthik as a great commentator for his sexist and cringe comment comparing a married woman to a bat wtf is wrong with people????
— arundhati ✨ (@arundhxti) July 2, 2021
Wisden.com has reached out to Sky Sports for comment. At the time of writing, Dinesh Karthik has not issued any public statement.
