IPL 2024: Mohammed Shami slams LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka for talking harshly with KL Rahul

LSG captain KL Rahul received an earful from franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka after the team’s humiliating loss to SRH.

India pacer Mohammed Shami has lent support to under-fire KL Rahul and criticized Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka for publicly scolding the captain of his franchise after a recent loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

LSG recently lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad in an embarrassing fashion.

KL Rahul had won the toss and chose that LSG would bat first. However, the LSG top order faltered with Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis falling for single-digit scores. KL Rahul himself labored to a 33-ball 29 runs. It was only due to a 99-run unbeaten partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni. Pooran made 48* and Badoni scored an unbeaten fifty as LSG managed to put 165/4 in 20 overs.

Many thought the pitch was a slower one like in Lucknow, but SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma dispelled those notions in quick time. Head (89* in 30 balls) and Abhishek (75* in 28 balls) overhauled the target in just 9.4 overs and won the match for SRH by 10 wickets and 62 balls in hand.

After the match ended, Sanjiv Goenka’s impassioned conversation with KL Rahul following LSG’s crushing defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday has become a hot topic.

It’s a matter of shame: Mohammed Shami slams LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and backs KL Rahul

Former cricketers have denounced the team owner’s hasty response to LSG’s loss. India fast bowler At the same Mohammed Shami, who is presently undergoing injury rehabilitation, also commented on the situation, stating, ‘It’s a matter of shame’ that Goenka chose to speak to Rahul the way he did on the field.

“Players have respect, and you are a respectful person, too, as an owner. Many people are watching you and learning from you. If these things happen in front of cameras … ye sharam wali baat hai (it’s a matter of shame).

If you have to do that, there are many different ways. You could’ve done the same thing in the dressing room or the hotel. It wasn’t necessary to do it on the field. Aise reaction de ke koi lal quile pe jhanda toh gaad nahi diya aapne,” Shami said on Cricbuzz.

Shami also pointed out that the fact that KL Rahul was not just any player, but the captain of LSG, makes the whole incident even more distasteful.

“He’s the captain, too, not a normal player. It’s a team game; it isn’t a big thing if the plan isn’t successful. Anything is possible in the game. I understand there can be good or bad days, but every player has respect, and there’s a way to talk. This sends a very wrong message,” said Shami.

Shamia added it is a different matter when players are involved in such scenarios. Still, some outside getting into such situations with a player has no place in sports.

“There are a lot of moments in the game when tempers flare up, and players quarrel with each other. It should not happen in cricket or any sport, but it does happen. A player talking to another player is different, but someone from the outside discussing something with the player is different. We are only speculating from what we are seeing, and only KL Rahul could tell what the conversation was about, but these kinds of reactions do not have any place in sports,” he added.

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