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Former India opener Virender Sehwag has advised Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane to refrain from responding to his critics in press conference. Sehwag feels Rahane should stay neutral whether someone is criticising or praising him. He gave examples of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and India's legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar to prove his point saying there is no need to respond.
"I don't think players should say all of this. I know he is the captain, and he was asked why Cameron Green is not bowling, he did not have a straight answer for that, so he said to ask Cricket Australia. I can understand that. But if someone is questioning my strike rate or batting style, people will praise you and criticize you, but you have to be neutral with both," the former opener said on Cricbuzz.
"Why is there a need to engage in such fights? They seem that they are answering the critics, but even Bachchan saab (Amitabh Bachchan) never answered his critics. There could not be a bigger example than Tendulkar, one newspaper had even written 'Endulkar'. Did he issue a response for that? If you respond, then it is a win for the critics, not for you," he added.
What did Rahane say?
Rahane seemed irked when his strike rate was questioned after KKR’s season opener which was a high-scoring contest. He had scored 67 runs from 40 balls with a strike rate of 167.50 in a losing cause against Mumbai Indians (MI).
"My strike rate... I have the best strike rate so far, from 2023. People who are talking are probably not watching the game or have a certain agenda against me. They don't like me playing. They don't like to watch me play. The amount of success I've got, I guess they're jealous about that," Rahane had said on ESPNCricinfo.
Sehwag defends Rahane for taking ‘few extra balls’
But, Sehwag defended Rahane's strike rate against MI. Then, he used Virat Kohli’s example to explain that he has not been able to escape strike rate criticism either.
"He does not need to answer, the stats are already answering for him. It just so happened that on that particular day, he played a few extra balls, and his strike rate was not that high. People don't even spare Virat Kohli. So, there's no point in discussing this, just move ahead," Sehwag concluded.
Rahane’s highest strike rate in a season
The 37-year-old scored 390 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 147.72 last season. His best season in terms of strike rate came for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In their title-winning 2023 season, he scored 326 runs from 11 innings at a strike rate of 172.48.
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