Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane has been too rigid in giving out strong statements despite his team not performing as expected. However, Simoun Doull has dragged Rohit Sharma into the debate to prove the reason behind Rahane’s fury.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have had an awful season in this IPL, after having finished poorly in the previous season as well. The Knights’ management has tried to pick big names, but balance was not their call on the auction table. Their campaign has been further strained by injuries to some key players.
Questions have been raised on captaincy as well as coaching after consecutive losses early in the season. Abhishek Nayar was brought in as a new head coach alongside a revamped coaching unit comprising Shane Watson and Tim Southee.
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Ajinkya Rahane has been firing at his critics amid a poor IPL season for KKR
KKR fans and cricket critics have not let Ajinkya Rahane slide with the recent poor show in the IPL. Rahane, now 37, has reached the twilight of his career and has faced immense criticism throughout his career. However, this time he is making criticisms rough for his haters.
Rahane opened the IPL 2026 with a well-made half-century, despite which KKR lost the game. He flopped in their next two games against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Punjab Kings, that too at their home ground in the Eden Gardens.
After the SRH match, Ajinkya Rahane had claimed that he is doing well and is feeling confident right now; even if someone is not, then they are just jealous of his success. He also opined that no matter what they talk about, negative or positive, he is happy that people are still talking about him.
Ex-NZ cricketer belittles Rohit Sharma to justify Ajinkya Rahane’s rage
Following the 37-year-old KKR skipper’s blunt reactions to criticisms and his poor performance in the IPL, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull, in a conversation with Cricbuzz, claimed that it is unfair to criticize him this badly, as he has had numbers better than Rohit Sharma.
“His numbers in the last four years have not been that bad. He averages 30 and strikes at 148 over 30-odd games. People are talking about dropping him. It’s a better record than what Rohit has got in the last four years,” he said on Cricbuzz.
“It’s an equal record to Ishan Kishan in the last four years. You are not talking about dropping any of those blokes. Hence his frustration. But it comes down to the pressure from a captaincy point of view,” he added.
Since IPL 2022, Rohit has had more runs than Rahane; however, speaking of average, Ajinkya Rahane has scored at an average of 28, striking at around 140.90, while Rohit has managed to average under 27 with a strike rate of 141.40.
“The criticism came with them finishing eighth last year and having a bad start this year” – Simon Doull
Though Ajinkya Rahane’s numbers have been consistent due to his promising season with the Super Kings and not with the Knights, Simon Doull believes that the criticisms of the out-of-favor Indian star are due to his failure as a captain more than a batter.
“The criticism came with them finishing eighth last year and having a bad start this year. He is frustrated because they don’t have the tools in the toolbox. They are not doing their job and are not playing well as a group. It’s not all his fault,” said Doull (via the aforementioned source).
KKR’s upcoming match is scheduled to be played against the Lucknow Super Giants after their third match at the Eden Gardens against the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings was washed out by rain. KKR is eighth on the table for two straight seasons.
