"Such a player is of no use" - Virender Sehwag slams PBKS all-rounder Sam Curran for his underwhelming show in IPL 2024
Former Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag tore into Punjab Kings all-rounder Sam Curran for his underperformance in IPL 2024. Sehwag stated that the youngster has been mediocre across departments in the current edition, claiming that he doesn't deserve a place in the side.
The 25-year-old fetched a record INR 18.5 crore from the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2023 edition and was retained for the ongoing season despite an underwhelming showing last year. While the Englishman has taken a decent 11 wickets in eight IPL 2024 matches at an average of 19.18, he has managed only 152 runs, averaging 19.00.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag recognized that a player like Curran is hardly of any use, given he isn't a match-winner in either department.
"I wouldn't keep Sam Curran as a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder. Because such a player is of no use, who does some batting and some bowling. Either you win the game with your batting or win the game with your bowling. Either you hit the bullseye or you don't perform at all."
With Shikhar Dhawan injured, the Surrey all-rounder has been given the responsibility to lead the franchise. However, Punjab are yet to win a match since he became skipper.
"Anything above 160 would have been a par total" - Sam Curran
Following their three-wicket loss to the Gujarat Titans on Sunday in Mullanpur, the youngster admitted that the opposition spinners tied them under knots and felt they were 10-15 runs short. PBKS managed 142 runs in the first innings after opting to bat first and eventually lost the match by three wickets.
The southpaw said at the post-match presentation:
"The effort with the ball was incredible, the commitment and fight was amazing, but it was not enough. The Afghanistan spinners are world class bowlers and Sai Kishore bowled really well, credit to them. That is the third time we have used that pitch, anything above 160 would have been a par total but we still fought well."
The Punjab Kings are now languishing at the ninth spot in the points table, above Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).