"Will someone who has actually put money into the team not feel angry?" - Amit Mishra opens up on KL Rahul-Sanjiv Goenka IPL 2024 confrontation
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Amit Mishra has opened up on the row between owner Sanjiv Goenka and skipper KL Rahul following the clash against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024. After a 98-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), LSG were embarrassingly thrashed by 10 wickets in under 10 overs by SRH in their next outing.
It led to Goenka and Rahul being involved in a heated conversation post-game, leading to speculations of the latter being removed as captain.
In a conversation with Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube show - Unplugged - Mishra revealed the inner details of the confrontation between the owner and team captain.
"He (Goenka) was disappointed. We lost two back-to-back matches very badly. Against KKR, we lost by some 90-100 runs and against SRH, the match was finished within 10 overs. It felt like we were bowling them during a net practice session. If I am so angry about it, will someone who has actually put money into the team not feel angry?," said Mishra.
"It was not a huge deal. But I later came to know that he said that the bowling was very bad and the team should have shown some fight. It looked like you have completely surrendered. But I feel people and media hyped it up a bit," he added.
Despite the debacle, Rahul continued as captain for the final two matches of the season.
However, LSG had lost enough ground by then and missed the playoffs for the first time in their three-year IPL history, finishing seventh in the 10-team competition.
"Someone who plays for the team should be captain" - Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra took a dig at LSG skipper KL Rahul by saying a more team-oriented player should be made franchise captain.
With the mega auction coming up possibly later this year for IPL 2025, it remains to be seen if LSG retains Rahul and continues with him as captain.
"It does not matter if he is in the Indian team or not. But a person who has the right mentality for T20s should be the captain. Someone who plays for the team should be captain. I am sure LSG will look for a better captain," said Mishra in the same interaction.
Rahul has captained the side all three years since 2022, enjoying top-four finishes in the first two seasons.
Meanwhile, Mishra has been with LSG since their inception in 2022 but has played only eight matches in total in the three years.