‘Storm in a tea cup'

LSG skipper KL Rahul. Pic/AFP

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) assistant coach Lance Klusener on Monday played down team owner Sanjiv Goenka's public outburst on their skipper KL Rahul, terming it "storm in a tea cup" and said he didn't find any issue in a "robust discussion between two cricket lovers".

Social media has been abuzz after Goenka was seen having an animated chat, purportedly reprimanding Rahul after LSG's record demolition at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad, last Wednesday. There have been speculations about Rahul's future as LSG skipper also, but Klusener said there has been "certainly no discussions around" the matter.

LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka with KL Rahul after their loss to SRH last week

"I don't see any problem with some robust discussion between two cricket lovers. So, for us, I guess it's just a storm in a tea cup. We love a robust discussion. I think that's how teams get better. So, it's not a big thing for us," the South African said during the pre-match press conference on the eve of their match against Delhi Capitals (DC).

Also Read: KL Rahul vs Sanjiv Goenka row: ‘There is no harm in being respectful'

Tough season

Opening the batting, Rahul has scored 460 runs, but his strike-rate reads 136.09, and it has put pressure on the LSG middle-order comprising Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran. Besides Rahul, Quinton De Kock's poor form this season has left LSG struggling in the Powerplay, putting pressure on the likes of Stoinis and Pooran, who haven't got the freedom to unleash their big shots.

Lance Klusener

Although Pooran and Ayush Badoni managed to rescue the team in the last match, the bowlers failed miserably against the formidable SRH pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who racked up 167 in 9.4 overs, a T20I record by any team.

DC hope to end on high

DC, on the other hand, will hope the return of skipper Rishabh Pant after a one-match suspension due to slow over-rate against Rajasthan Royals will help them to end things on a high. Delhi sans Pant paid the price for their fielding lapses as those drop catches and misfields came back to haunt them against RCB on Sunday night.