IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab continued with their poor run of form in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. They lost against the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 69 runs on Thursday. Now, they are reeling at the bottom of the points table, having won just one out of the six matches they have played.
KXIP team is heavily dependent on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. While chasing a total of 201 runs, their batting order faltered. No one except Nicholas Pooran (77 off 37) performed during the chase, and hence KXIP could score only 132 runs in reply.
After KXIP’s yet another defeat, former England international Kevin Pietersen has criticised Glenn Maxwell for yet another batting failure. The Australian all-rounder has managed to score just 48 runs from the six matches. He also has a strike rate of less than 100. KXIP bought him for a whopping INR 10.5 crore in the IPL 2020 auction.
Maxwell has failed to perform keeping in mind his hefty price tag. He continued with his poor form against SRH as well, as he was run out on 7. KXIP needed him to perform during this chase, but he again failed. Petersen feels that KXIP need to decide on his future considering his poor run of form. (IPL 2020)
“This year will be very very difficult for him (Rahul). He has not got the support of his big players and that one particular big player is Maxwell. Maxwell needs to either be sidelined or he gets one more chance,” Pietersen told Star Sports in the post-match show.
Captain KL Rahul is currently the holder of the Orange Cap in IPL 2020, with 313 runs from 6 outings. However, Pietersen feels that there is excessive pressure on both Rahula and Mayank Agarwal.
IPL 2020: Kevin Pietersen feels that there is too much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.
“There is so much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal going into the chase. It’s unfair pressure. It’s okay Nicholas Pooran played nicely. There are some good players in and around.
“You can’t have him captain and give him wicketkeeping responsibilities and then have him thinking that he has to score all the runs because the other overseas players are not getting the runs. There is a hell of a lot of pressure,” Pietersen pointed out. (IPL 2020)
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Pietersen also talked about replacing Glenn Maxwell with Chris Gayle. He feels that the inclusion of Gayle will not solve KXIP’s middle-order problems. Gayle was set to feature in the KXIP playing XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he had to sit out of the game due to a stomach problem. KXIP will now face the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.
“I am going to (have a) go at Maxwell here because he hasn’t delivered. He is a big, big player for that franchise. If he is not part of the process, then you have to bring somebody else in.
“And Gayle, Anil Kumble said he would have played but he had a bit of an upset tummy. So he is going to have to produce some magic but where is he going to bat? I don’t think he can bat at No. 3 or No. 4 because of his running between the wickets,” Pietersen further said. (IPL 2020)
