Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim reckons Ishan Kishan had no one but himself to blame for his run out dismissal in the opening game of the series against England at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.

Kishan was looking to get off the mark on the second delivery he faced and asked Abhishek Sharma to come for a quick single. However, the ball had not even passed the short mid-wicket fielder, forcing Sharma to remain stationary at his spot.

But Kishan was half-way on the pitch and had to make a U-turn to get back in his crease. The number one T20I batter failed to make his ground on time and was dismissed without troubling the scorers.

“It was self-destruction. Both Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan were watching the ball. They should have been looking at each other. There might have been a possibility had Abhishek Sharma responded very quickly, but normally, the non-striker waits for the ball to beat the fielder in the infield, and he runs after that only,” Saba Karim said on JioHotstar.

The former Indian selectors said no run was available when Kishan was trying to steal a single.

“In my opinion, there was no run there. Even if Abhishek Sharma had tried, it would have been difficult for him to reach the other end because Jos Buttler did an excellent job. He came to the stumps very quickly. Both batters need to work on their communication. It happened in Ireland and here as well,” Saba observed.

Meanwhile, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan concurred with Saba Karim and said there was no run there.

“There was no run at all. You would have heard Abhishek saying that he (Kishan) should have allowed the ball to pass the midwicket fielder, and then the mid-on fielder also wasn’t standing on the 30-yard circle. He was standing slightly ahead. When that happens, he is also attacking the ball,” he said.

“You played the ball softly. You have to take the run only after the ball passes the fielder who is trying to cut the ball. In my opinion, there was no run. I totally agree with Saba bhai. Abhishek would have gotten run out. It means you took a high-risk run, and when you do that, someone will be sacrificed. You got run out yourself. So it was a wrong decision from Ishan Kishan,” Pathan observed.

The second T20I between India and England will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday.