Shikhar Dhawan's absence due to injury has thrown the Punjab Kings' IPL 2024 campaign into disarray.
Their latest setback came in the form of a narrow three wicket defeat against the Gujarat Titans on Sunday, April 21, 2024, extending their losing streak to four matches.
Currently languishing in ninth place, the Kings are desperately searching for answers.
Sam Curran, handed the captaincy reins in Dhawan's absence, has failed to inspire confidence with either bat or ball.
Against the Titans, he could only manage 20 runs while opening the batting, and his bowling figures were a meagre 1 wicket for 18 runs in 2 overs.
Legendary batter Virender Sehwag took aim at the Punjab Kings' batting approach, particularly their decision not to promote in-form batters higher in the order. He also questioned Curran's role in the team and delivered a harsh message for the franchise management during a discussion on Cricbuzz.
'If I was in the PBKS dugout, I would not even pick him (Curran) in my team, neither as a batting all-rounder nor as a bowling all-rounder. I wouldn't pick him,' Sehwag declared.
'A player is not of any use if he can bowl a bit and bat a bit. You either bat properly and win us the match, or you bowl and win us the game. This bits and pieces part I don't understand,' Sehwag added.
Curran's overall performance this season has been far from impressive. In eight innings, he has only managed 152 runs at a strike rate of 116.03, with just one fifty to his name. While his bowling has yielded 11 wickets, it hasn't been enough to lift the struggling Kings.
Curran himself acknowledged the team's shortcomings, admitting they fell short by 10-15 runs against the Titans. He pointed to a poor showing after the Powerplay as a crucial factor in the loss.
'That is the third time we have used that pitch, anything above 160 would have been a par total but we still fought well. Prabhsimran played really well in the Powerplay but unfortunately we lost a cluster of wickets after that. Now we know what to do, we have to win every game,' Curran said after the match.
The Kings find themselves in a precarious position, needing to win every remaining match to stay in play-off contention.
