Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul was seen being admonished by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka after the team was humiliated by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2024.
LSG had set a 166-run target for SRH to chase in Hyderabad, as the visiting side batters struggled on the surface with KL Rahul scoring 29 runs in 33 balls. It was only because of Nicholas Pooran’s 48* and Ayush Badoni’s unbeaten fifty and their 99*-run partnership that LSG was able to put 165/4 on the board.
In reply, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the SRH openers completely demolished the LSG bowling as they chased down the total in 9.4 overs and won the match by 10 wickets and 62 balls to spare. Head remained unbeaten on 89, while Abhishek made 75*.
After the mauling LSG received, owner Sanjiv Goenka came on the field and was seen angrily admonishing both captain KL Rahul and coach Justin Langer.
Fans on social media compared that with the same sort of thing that happened in 2017 when Sanjiv Goenka 'sacked' MS Dhoni as the captain of the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants franchise.
Notably, when CSK was banned for two years in the spot-fixing aftermath in 2015, MS Dhoni was bought by Goenka’s RPS franchise and made captain for the IPL 2016 tournament. However, under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, RPs failed to make it into the playoffs and finished 7th on the 8-team table.
In the aftermath, Goenka surprised one and all by sacking MS Dhoni as captain of the team for IPL 2017 and making Steve Smith captain. Smith led the side to the final of the tournament, losing to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.
Fans recalled the treatment Sanjiv Goenka had meted to MS Dhoni during that time, now that the same thing was happening with KL Rahul.
Here are some reactions:
