'What's going on? What's the problem?' - Virender Sehwag opines his take on Goenka-Rahul episode

The ongoing IPL 2024 season has witnessed its fair share of controversies, with the latest incident involving Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka and skipper KL Rahul. Goenka's animated conversation with Rahul after LSG's crushing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) drew widespread criticism, prompting former Indian batting legend Virender Sehwag to weigh in on the matter.

In the match against SRH, LSG looked clueless as openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma easily smashed the Lucknow bowlers and emerged victorious by 10 wickets. The post-match exchange between Goenka and Rahul drew flak from fans and experts alike.

Sehwag, criticized Goenka's behaviour, stating that team owners should refrain from getting angry with players or backroom staff. He emphasized that the owner's role should be to motivate the team, not question their decisions or raise concerns about individual players.

“The owner's role should be that when they meet the players in the dressing room or during a press meet, they should only talk to motivate them. But if the owner comes and asks, 'What is going on? What's the problem?' or gets hold of one of the team management members and starts to raise questions about a particular player...see the coaches and the captain run the team, so it is better for these owners not to get involved with players or get angry with me,” the former cricketer said on Cricbuzz.

Also read: Mohammed Shami appalled by Sanjiv Goenka's animated chat with KL Rahul

These are all businessmen; They only understand profit and loss: Sehwag

Sehwag also said that the owners are businessmen and should focus on profit and loss and look to keep inspiring their teams. “These are all businessmen. They only understand profit and loss. But here, there is no loss, so what's bothering them? You are earning a 400-crore profit. I mean, this is a business where you have to do nothing at all. You have guys to take care of that, and irrespective of what happens, you are earning profit. So your work should only be to motivate the players,” Sehwag added.

“What happens is that the player will think that there are other franchises in the IPL if I leave, someone else will take me. And if you lose a player, your chances of winning are zero. When I left Punjab, they were fifth. They never came fifth in any other seasons,” the cricketer-turned-commentator concluded.

Also read: 'There is a place behind closed doors' - Brett Lee opines on LSG owners bone of contention with KL Rahul

LSG are currently vying for a top-four spot, contending with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans, and Delhi Capitals (DC). However, their unfavourable net run rate might hinder their chances if Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and SRH continue their winning streaks. With six victories in 12 matches and 12 points, further defeats could hamper LSG's hopes of making it to the playoffs.