Former New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan commented on the leadership situation of the Punjab Kings after the return of regular captain Shikhar Dhawan. Mitchell McClenaghan suggested that stand-in captain Sam Curran should continue to lead the Punjab Kings, citing his leadership qualities.
Shikhar Dhawan last played for the Punjab Kings in a narrow defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad. Dhawan sustained a shoulder injury while fielding. The left-handed batsman has been out of action for over three weeks. He has scored 152 runs in five matches at an average of 30.40 and a strike rate of 125.62.
The Punjab franchise lost three games under the leadership of Sam Curran. However, they bounced back with a win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where they chased the target of 262 runs. The team continued its winning streak by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an away game.
The Mullanpur-based franchise defeated the Super Kings by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 1. They currently sit seventh in the 10-team points table. The team has secured four wins from ten matches in the ongoing T20 tournament.
Sam Curran seems very supportive – Mitchell McClenaghan
In a video shared by ESPNcricinfo on X (formerly known as Twitter), Mitchell McClenaghan praised Sam Curran for his calm demeanor and tactical brilliance. McClenaghan highlighted Curran’s supportive nature towards his bowlers and praised him for the team’s strong fielding.
“He (Shikhar Dhawan) is a relaxed guy. Does Shikhar have to be a captain himself? you follow because he is in the game, but he is also on the field,” McClenaghan told ESPNcricinfo.
“He seems to be very supportive of his bowlers, always watching the pitch, always changing angles and making sure the guys are alert and in the right place. That’s probably the noticeable difference because their field positions were tactically sound.”
“Very often they get hit by the sweepers, that’s why their bowling unit is doing so well. Maybe they didn’t bowl as well as other teams, but their fielding was great. It covered all the angles correctly, and.” That’s leadership. That’s from Sam.”
Chennai Super Kings started well with their openers contributing 64 runs in 8.2 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad was the top scorer with 62 runs off 48 balls but he lacked the support of other batsmen. Inform batsman Shivam Dube who was sent off for a duck. MS Dhoni scored 14 runs in 11 balls while CSK scored 162 runs in 20 overs.
In their chase of 163, Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 13 runs, was dismissed in the fourth over. Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 23) built a crucial partnership of 64 runs for the second wicket. Shashank Singh (25*) and Sam Curran (26*) led Punjab to victory with an unbeaten 50-run partnership.
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