Mohammed Shami has hit out at Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka for his public tirade against skipper KL Rahul following his team’s mauling against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday (May 8).

SRH chased down Lucknow’s total of 167 in just 56 balls, making it the quickest run chase of over 150 in a T20 game. Rahul, who made 33 in 29 in the first innings, was at the receiving end of the owner’s wrath after the defeat, leading to concerned pundits questioning the treatment of an international player in front of the cameras.

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Shami, who is not playing in the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League due to an injury, has said the behaviour of Goenka towards Rahul was a “matter of shame.”

Speaking on Cricbuzz, the pacer said: “The player has some respect and even he [Goenka] is a respectful person because he is the owner. Crores of people are watching and learning. If such things show up on the screen or these are the reactions on screen, then it is a matter of shame. These things should not happen,” he said.

“If he wanted to do this [discuss the result] there are other ways of talking. He could have spoken to him in the dressing room or the hotel, there is no need to do it on the field. By giving such a reaction, you haven’t hoisted a flag on the Red Fort. He [Rahul] is also your captain. It’s not a normal player or that a big mistake was made – it’s a team game. If the plan was unsuccessful, it’s not a big deal. Anything can happen in the game. There are good and bad days, but the player should be respected and there should be an etiquette of talking.”

KL Rahul @klrahul is a world class cricketer (in spite of a dip in his strike rate & confidence). This owner (or any IPL franchise owner) has no right to behave so rudely to cricketers in public. This is as bad as humiliating the game itself. We all saw this coming in IPL,… pic.twitter.com/BJ6I4ErdEx

— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) May 9, 2024

Shami also said that being calm and composed in tense situations is something that players sometimes struggle with but the equation between teammates is different. “There are many moments during a tense game when you might say something to another player. This happens – sometimes you argue, use cuss words and sometimes you might react. Even that should not happen in cricket or any other sport. But, you should know your boundaries and limits.”

He added: “When players talk to other players, it’s a different situation. They’re discussing the on-field issues. We are assuming from the actions of Goenka what the conversation with Rahul was – only they can say what was being discussed – but these reactions should not be in sports.”

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