IPL 2017: Virender Sehwag slams overseas players of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) post loss vs Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS)

"Martin Guptill's role was to cash in during the Powerplay and [the other opener] Wriddhiman Saha's was to just bat around with him," Virender Sehwag said.

Glenn Maxwell’s Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) failed to secure the playoffs berth for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, following an embarrassing nine-wicket loss against Steven Smith’s Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), in match 55 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Sunday. KXIP Head of Cricketing Operations Virender Sehwag slammed the overseas players for failing to perform. KXIP’s Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Shaun Marsh and Maxwell himself failed to make an impact, as they were dismissed cheaply, while KXIP collapsed to a paltry 73, their lowest in the IPL history. As a result of the win, it was RPS, who made it to the playoffs instead. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), IPL 2017, Match 55 at Pune

“I’m very disappointed. I can say that none of the foreign players took responsibility and at least played 12 to 15 overs. Their role was at least one of the top four should bat for 12 to 15 overs, but none of the batsmen took the responsibility. I think they were complaining that the wicket was a bit slow but when you play international cricket so much, you should get used to playing on difficult or good wickets. There are very rare occasions when you get a good wicket to bat on but whatever wicket you get, you have to play at least 20 overs for your side. But Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Guptill and Morgan [were all disappointing],” said Sehwag during the post-match press conference, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.

“Guptill’s role was to cash in during the Powerplay and [the other opener] Wriddhiman Saha’s was to just bat around with him,” Sehwag said. “So I don’t mind him getting out on the first or second ball as long as he knows what he’s doing. There’s no point blaming him; I should rather blame the other batsmen,” he added. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), IPL 2017, Match 55 at Pune

“Even Marsh, his role was to play till 10-12 overs, but the way he got out was disappointing and then Maxwell and Morgan, these are the experienced players… I mean the players who got out had been informing the next batsman that it’s a slow wicket and even then if you throw away wickets, it means that you’re not up for the game,” continued Sehwag.

Speaking on Maxwell’s performance throughout the season, he said, “We always knew that when Maxwell fires, then he can win the match on his own,” Sehwag said. “But he didn’t fire in most games. That is a big disappointment, especially since he is experienced, having played for Australia’s Test and ODI teams. He didn’t take the responsibility as a captain and didn’t perform for Kings XI Punjab.”

With Hashim Amla missing out on the last few games, he said, “We missed Hashim Amla, for sure. The kind of consistency he showed, none of the other players could do that, an individual couldn’t take responsibility. Saha played one [good] innings, Manan Vohra played one innings but apart from that none of the others played responsibly.”

“He [Amla] is an experienced player and has played more than 100 Test matches and averages close to 50 in Test cricket and also one-day cricket. He knows how to score runs immaterial of the format. And he takes very few risks. Whatever risks he takes, it is always after 12 or 15 overs, when he knows that he has completed his role and there’s a need to score quick runs. Otherwise, for the first 10 overs he takes less risks and remains on 30-40 and converts them into big scores. The two hundreds that he scored were brilliant. The other players in the team have a lot to learn from Hashim Amla, be it international players or Indian,” concluded Sehwag, whoseKXIP finish the tournament with 14 points.

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