Virender Sehwag has slammed PBKS stand-in skipper Sam Curran, saying that he wouldn’t have him in the team as a batting or a bowling all-rounder as Punjab slumped to their 6th loss of the season. Curran scored 20 off 19 balls and picked up one wicket from his two overs as he conceded 18 runs. GT would end up winning the match as PBKS’ Mullanpur struggles continued.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag was very critical of Curran performances with both bat and ball, saying that a person who is doing some batting and bowling isn’t helping the side. The former India cricketer said that he needs to help the side with either the bat or with the ball, which he feels the England all-rounder has struggled to do all season.
“I wouldn’t keep Sam Curran as a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder. Because such a player is of no use, who does some batting and some bowling. Either you win the game with your batting or win the game with your bowling. Either you hit the bullseye or you don’t perform at all,” said Sehwag.
Curran has opened the batting for PBKS in the last two games but hasn’t made a strong impact up top.
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How well has Curran fared this season?
Curran started things off with a fine performance with the bat against DC as he scored 63 to get PBKS off to a winning start. However, since then, the England all-rounder has struggled to make any impact with the ball or bat.
In 8 matches so far, Curran has just 153 runs to his name with an average of 19. Curran had scored 276 runs last season in the IPL at an average of 27.60. In terms of bowling, while he has picked up 11 wickets, the economy rate has been 8.79 and he decided to only use himself twice against GT.
Curran and Punjab will next be in action against KKR at the Eden Gardens on Friday, April 26 as they look to end their losing streak and return back to winning ways. The defeat to Gujarat means that PBKS are 9th on the table.