In IPL 2023 on Thursday, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Punjab Kings by 24 runs. Bangalore scored 174 runs for four wickets in 20 overs when batting first on the Mohali ground. In response, the Punjab team was reduced to 150 runs in 18.2 overs. Sam Curran, the costliest player in the history of the IPL auction, captained Punjab. He was bought by the Punjab franchise for Rs 18.50 crore.
Now former Punjab captain and coach Virender Sehwag has targeted Sam Curran. Sam spent 27 runs in four overs, while in batting, Sam was run out after scoring only 10 runs.
Sehwag was not impressed with many of Sam Curran’s decisions, especially his run-out at a crucial juncture as the former India cricketer lashed out at the auctioned English all-rounder for Rs 18.50 crore.
Sam Curran was the most sought-after auction but has less experience than players like Dhawan. Sehwag said in an analysis that you cannot buy experience for Rs 18 crore.
Sehwag said during a show, “Sam is an international player, but you cannot buy experience with Rs 18 crore. We thought he would win your matches just because he was bought for 18 crores, but he doesn’t have that experience yet. He got the wrong run there, and it was unnecessary. It comes only when you play, when your hair turns grey, and when you play in the hot sun. You are the captain, you should have been there and tried to take the match till the last overs, but lack of experience let the match go out of hand.”
Curran has scored 87 runs in six matches this season at a modest average of 21.75 and a strike rate of 117.56. There is neither a half-century nor a century in these. Apart from this, Sam’s performance in bowling has also been decent. He has been able to take five wickets in six matches. His economic rate has been 8.19.
With the loss against the Royal Challengers, the Punjab Kings team has slipped to the seventh position in the points table with three wins and three losses in six matches. However, it is still not all over for the team. Punjab has to play their next game against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on 22nd April. Punjab would be hoping for an early return of their regular skipper Dhawan.
