Overreaction Monday | Cottrell the Cooper, Dinesh Karthikās ego and KPās massive fall from grace
Ah. That time of the week again where we get to search the Internet and find tons of overreactions that are not only ludicrous and downright hilarious but sometimes disrespectful too. The IPL has been a great feeder to this column as we take those opinions and the break them down.
KP accusing Khaleel of faking his injury
On air for Star Sports during the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, Kevin Pietersen accused Khaleel Ahmed of faking an injury so as to avoid bowling to MS Dhoni who has the reputation of winning games from tough situations.
SC's Take: When Kevin Pietersen started out as a commentator after a successful international career, he brought in a fresh sense of perspective and the passion with which he spoke about the game made him a loved commentator on the Internet. But things have changed in due course of time and KPās unfiltered statements without any kind of ownership has ensured a dramatic fall from grace, with his commentary touched a hitherto unplumbed low when he accused Khaleel Ahmed of faking an injury so as to avoid bowling to MS Dhoni in the death overs. It was a distasteful comment by someone who played cricket at the highest level with so much of passion and when he was shown a mirror by Joy Bhattacharjya, KP shot back with a āfriendly banterā statement which it was definitely not. Can he learn and not make such comments that trigger question marks over his credentials?
Sheldon Cottrell saying KL Rahul was right in handing Gowtham final over
After KL Rahulās bizarre decision of bowling K Gowtham the final over against Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, who bowled well in the powerplay, threw his ā110 per centā backing for his skipper for the decision.
SC's Take: You know, you have to support your captain and thatās alright. There would have been nothing wrong in assuming what Cottrell said was to defend his skipper because that is the most natural and correct thing to do. But there is a sense of ownership that comes with when you attend a press conference as a normal player in the squad and that to dodge without going hyperbolic. I wouldnāt have nit-picked Sheldon Cottrellās statement if he didnāt say that word ā110%ā but you know it alright, the overenthusiastic guy. There was no logic whatsoever for KL Rahul handing the ball to Gowtham, especially when you know Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard feast on such bowling. Even by Dinesh Karthikās ridiculously low bar set on Saturday, Rahul giving the ball to his Karnataka teammate would be considered clumsy and nothing else. So please, Sheldon, behave like Cottrell, not like the Cooper from the Big Bang Theory.
Shane Warne backs Sanju Samson to play in all three formats for India
After Sanju Samson played another otherworldly knocks, mind you, in Sharjah, Kings XI Punjab mentor Shane Warne stated that the 25-year-old deserved to play in all three formats for the Indian team.Ā
SC's Take: It is quite baffling because irrespective of the couple of knocks that Samson plays every year, he is highly inconsistent to play anything other than T20 cricket for India. In List A cricket, he has only one century and the less said about his First-class stats the better. One of the highly inconsistent players in domestic cricket, most of Samsonās runs came for Kerala who play in the lower divisions more often that apart from the odd 2018 season. So I seriously doubt Warneās statement coming from any logical stand-point which is actually a fact because we all know that. Donāt we?
Dinesh Karthikās ego doesnāt allow him to send Morgan up top
After Kolkata Knight Ridersā shambolic loss to Delhi Capitals on Saturday, in which Dinesh Karthikās captaincy was highly exposed, people on social media claimed that DKās ego stopped him from allowing Eoin Morgan to bat at No.4
SC's Take: Well, I admit Dinesh Karthik was terrible last night as captain, he looked bereft of ideas and didnāt inspire any confidence but egoistic? Well, those KKR fans need to reflect correctly because who is responsible for this culture? From illogically expecting Andre Russell to āalmost open so that he can score a double centuryā to making Eoin Morgan a cult figure as if he is the greatest ever white-ball player and leader on the planet, they lack respect for DK ever since he was appointed in the role. Sure enough, he hasnāt commanded any sort of respect but thatās why a coaching team is sitting in the dugout - to correct the wrongs and then showing the path. If DK thought his move was best for the team but it failed spectacularly, sorry boss, thatās not ego, you can choose any other word. This is cricket, after all.