Virender Sehwag, the former Indian opener and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) captain, has finally opened up about his decision to drop in-form Morne Morkel for the off-spinner Sunny Gupta in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012. Gupta hadn't played in the season till the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012.
Well, Sehwag’s decision backfired and he was criticized heavily, as the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) crushed Delhi by 86 runs in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012 to reach the final.
However, CSK lost the final battle by 5 wickets to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
After 10 years, Sehwag finally revealed that he decided to drop their highest wicket-taker of IPL 20212 Morkel because of the presence of the left-handers in the CSK’s playing XI.
There were Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, and Ravindra Jadeja among left-handed batters in the CSK’s playing XI for the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012, which forced them to drop Morkel to bring in Sunny Gupta.
Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz: “There used to be this off-spinner in our team named Sunny (Gupta). I decided to play him straight away in the playoffs against Chennai Super Kings because I thought they had three left-handed batters, and I will bowl him against left-handers.”
He added, “I gave him the first over, but Murali Vijay didn't let me bowl Sunny again in the entire innings (Sunny ended with figures of 0/47 in three overs). So, these things happen. Sometimes, such changes can click. Because the opposition hadn't seen that bowler, no one has played against him.”
