New Delhi, April 22: Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag does not hesitate to speak his mind. He often dares to make bold statements and initiate a debate.
Upset with Punjab Kings (PBKS) loss on Sunday evening against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mullanpur, Sehwag targeted Punjab team's stand-in skipper Sam Curran.
Sehwag even questioned Curran's role in the team and said he would never even pick a bits-and-pieces player in his team.
Sehwag's remark came after PBKS suffered their sixth loss of the season after suffering a narrow three-wicket loss at the hands of Gujarat Giants in low-scoring thriller. Curran scored 20 off 19 balls and claimed one wicket after conceding 18 runs from his two overs.
"If I was in the PBKS dugout, I would not even pick him in my team, neither as a batting all-rounder nor as a bowling all-rounder. I wouldn't pick him," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
"A player is not of any use if he can bowl a bit and bat a bit. You either bat properly and win us the match, or you bowl and win us the game. I don't understand this bits and pieces part," he added.
Curran's showing this season has been underwhelming, tallying a mere 152 runs across eight innings at a strike rate of 116.03, with a solitary half-century to his credit. In terms of bowling, he has 11 scalps at an economy rate of 8.79 in eight games.
Well, Sam Curran is talented. He has fashioned a few memorable victories for England in both white ball and red ball cricket. He is a proven all-rounder. But his recent records have not been very impressive. So Sehwag calling him a 'bits and pieces' player may not be unacceptable at this point of time.
But should he have led Punjab Kings in absence of regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who is out with an injury, is still debatable. But Curran as a player has done well in the IPL in the past and has the potentials to bounce back stronger. (With IANS support)
