Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul has come under fire for his captaincy during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) T20. On Thursday, KXIP lost their third match of the season and second consecutive game against Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI).
Since the past two games, Rahul is being heavily trolled on social media for his decisions on the field. Earlier this week, KXIP failed to defend 223 runs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and in Thursday’s encounter, they were unable to chase the 192 run target set by the defending champions.
Punjab were in a dominating position and contained the opposition for the most part of the first innings. After being 124 for 4 in 16 overs, MI all-rounders – Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya – broke loose and scored 67 runs off the last 23 balls. The carnage also included four sixes in the final over which was bowled by off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham.
The cricket fanatics and experts criticized this move of bringing an off-spinner against two in-form batsmen in the last over of the innings.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has come in support of under-fire Rahul. Yuvi took to his Twitter handle to mentioned that Mumbai Indians were the better among the two teams and also supported the KXIP skipper. Yuvraj said that the flak Rahul is getting is a bit unfair and people should look for the positives as well.
“Tough game for @lionsdenkxip last night as @mipaltan were the better team on the day But @klrahul11 getting bit of a flack for bowling an offie in last over I feel is a bit unfair, We all make mistakes and as a new skip we should all look at the positives that he has brought on,” the Punjab lad tweeted.
Tough game for @lionsdenkxip last night as @mipaltan were the better team on the day But @klrahul11 getting bit of a flack for bowling an offie in last over I feel is a bit unfair ,We all make mistakes and as a new skip we should all look at the positives that he has brought on
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 2, 2020
In-form Rahul, who fell for a 17-ball 19 in the run-chase, hinted at plenty of changes going ahead for the Kings XI. At the post-match presentation, he said, “Obviously disappointing. Looking back, we could’ve been three wins out of four. This game, we made some mistakes. Important we come back stronger. Another bowling option would be nice – an all-rounder option who can bat and bowl well. Will be sitting with the coaches to decide if we want to play an extra bowler.”
KXIP will next face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on October 4 in Dubai.
