Rajasthan Royals (RR) Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has insisted that the franchise “doesn't play the blame game” and said win or loss is a collective result, not individual after his team’s third straight loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
On Wednesday, September 29, Rajasthan Royals (RR) slipped to the 7th spot with 8 points in the IPL 14 points table after being thrashed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets in Dubai.
RR's recent loss to RCB in Dubai has put them in big trouble, leaving them with only option to win all of their three remaining matches against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to have a chance of going into the playoffs in the ongoing IPL 2021.
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Sangakarra said at the post-match media conference: “We don't play the blame game in our franchise. We win together, we lose together. We haven't done well enough, haven't been smart enough with our batting and we all know that. The players know it.”
He continued, “So, we'll try to keep things simple, focus on training and how we plan to execute what we've spoken about. We always keep things simple. There's a lot of pressure on players that they put on themselves. In the game itself, there's a lot of pressure.”
The Sri Lankan legend further said his job is not to add more burden on the players but guide them on how to deal with it.
Sangakkara further added, “There are many ways that you manage the highs of wins and disappointments of a loss and be able to keep yourself calm and focus on what needs to be done. At times like this, it's very easy to be dejected and break up into little groups where murmurings can start but our group has held together really well," added the Sri Lankan batting great.”
Hailing RR skipper Sanju Samson, who has scored 452 runs this season so far, the team director mentioned: “Yeah, we do have one-on-one chats on a lot of things. And when we do talk cricket, India's aspirations come at a time when the IPL is over. And our chats are very much IPL-focused. Not just his (Samson's) batting but about captaincy, about the team and how we are playing.”
He signed off by saying, “He (Samson) is a very good player, a very special player. He has done exceptionally well for us this season. And I am sure that he has aspirations to play for India and, at some point, I think he will be selected for a longer run. He is good and ready at any time that he is picked.”
(With PTI Inputs)
