Virender Sehwag, the former India opener, has taken a dig at some of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsmen, saying their faltering form in IPL 2020 is down to them considering the franchise as “a government job”.
CSK came in for much criticism after throwing away what seemed a routine chase of 168 against Kolkata Knight Riders. From 101-2 at the beginning of the 14th over, CSK slipped to 157-5 after 20 overs, falling short of the target by 10 runs as their middle order struggled to put away the boundaries.
MS Dhoni, the captain, managed a 12-ball 11 while Sam Curran failed to build on a 11-ball 17. However, the most glaring was the performance of Kedar Jadhav, who was sent above Dwyane Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja, but finished on a 12-ball 7* after playing defensive shots in the death overs.
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Jadhav even refused singles late on with Jadeja, who seemed in much better nick, at the other end – finishing on an 8-ball 21* – all of which directed plenty of criticism his way.
“It should have been chased down. But the dot balls played by Kedar Jadhav … didn’t help,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz. “And, in my view, some of the Chennai Super Kings batsmen think of CSK as a government job, whether you perform or not, they know they’ll get their salary anyway.
“If you get the CSK top three or even the top two, it becomes difficult for them to chase. Earlier, Faf du Plessis would wage a lone battle. This time against KKR, Shane Watson did that.”
CSK between overs 12 and 18
3⃣3⃣ runs
4⃣ wickets#IPL2020 #KKRvCSK pic.twitter.com/PU3qYrJqIc— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) October 7, 2020
Speaking on Facebook in a video series titled Viru Ki Baithak, in which Sehwag offers tongue-in-cheek reviews of IPL matches, he also targeted Jadhav, sarcastically suggesting he should have been awarded the Player of the Match for changing the game, and labelled him a “useless decoration” in the CSK batting order.
After six matches, CSK, the three-time champions, are in an unfamiliar position at No.6 in the table, having lost four matches so far. They take on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second game on Saturday.
