Virender Sehwag has slammed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka for his anger-filled outburst at captain KL Rahul. This came after LSG had been decimated by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad.
KL Rahul chose to bat first after winning the toss and scored 165/4 in 20 overs. Ayush Badoni scored 55* in 30 balls, Nicholas Pooran made 48*, and captain Rahul scored 29 in 33 balls.
SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma did not give LSG bowlers a chance as they chased down the 166-run goal in only 9.4 overs. Head scored 89*, while Abhishek batted 75*, as SRH won by 10 wickets and 62 balls.
The post-match footage shows LSG skipper KL Rahul in a miserable state, “loss for words” after the stunning attack from the SRH starting combination. Another video became popular on social media, showing LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka appearing unhappy with Rahul and giving him an earful.
He had an emotional conversation with Rahul, using exaggerated hand movements to express his frustration with the dismal loss to the Sunrisers.
Virender Sehwag believed that owners should only meet with players if they had something positive or motivational to discuss, leaving the rest of the cricketing obligations to the captain and support staff.
“The owner’s role should be that when they meet the players in the dressing room or during a press meet, they should only talk to motivate them. But if the owner comes and asks – ‘What is going on? What’s the problem?’ or gets hold of one of the team management members and starts to raise questions about a particular player…see the coaches and the captain run the team, so it is better for these owners not to get involved with players or get angry with me,” he said on Cricbuzz.
What’s bothering them? You are earning a 400-crore profit: Virender Sehwag slams LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka
The former Indian opener then blasted Goenka for his actions, claiming that as a businessman, he did not lose money following LSG’s defeat versus SRH.
He stated that regardless of how the club plays, the owners make a significant profit, adding that the only loss he may face is Rahul leaving the franchise at the end of the 2024 season.
“These are all businessmen. They only understand profit and loss. But here, there is no loss, so what’s bothering them? You are earning a 400-crore profit. I mean, this is a business where you have to do nothing at all. You have guys to take care of that, and irrespective of what happens, you are earning profit.
“So you’re work should only be to motivate the players. What happens is that the player will think that there are other franchises in the IPL, if I leave, someone else will take me. And if you lose a player, your chances of winning are zero. When I left Punjab, they were fifth. They never came fifth in any other seasons,” he said.
LSG will next face Delhi Capitals on May 14 in Delhi and then Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on May 17.
