The public display of a seemingly heated conversation between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka and captain KL Rahul after their crushing defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has caused a stir. However, the LSG camp, including coach Justin Langer, is downplaying the incident, assuring it was a much calmer discussion than it appeared.
While former cricketers voiced their disapproval over the public nature of the exchange, Justin Langer, speaking to The Times of India, brushed it aside as a “massive storm in a teacup, in fact in an espresso cup.” He attributed it to the immense passion for cricket in India, shared by Sanjiv Goenka, himself, and KL Rahul.
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Justin Langer clarified that Goenka was merely seeking answers after their poor performance against SRH, where they were comprehensively defeated by 10 wickets. “Our plan for the game didn’t go perfectly,” he admitted.
“After the game, Mr. Goenka came onto the field and asked KL, ‘What happened? Our plan that we talked about hasn’t worked. What do we do now?’ And then we talked through it. The sound was off, no one heard what was said. It might have looked quite aggressive, but it was really quite tame,” aded Justin Langer
A post-match clip of Sanjiv Goenka engaging in an animated conversation with KL Rahul went viral, sparking speculation about a rift within the team. However, Langer asserts that the lack of audio created a misleading impression.
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The incident echoes the statement made by assistant coach Lance Klusener on Monday, who termed the conversation a “robust discussion” between passionate individuals. Both Langer and Klusener emphasize that the LSG camp remains unfazed by the public scrutiny and views the whole incident as a minor misunderstanding.