‘Not written wherever…’: Virender Sehwag blasts KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane | Cricket News

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Ajinkya Rahane warms up earlier than an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers’ Hyderabad, on the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) *** Local Caption ***

Former India opener Virender Sehwag has blasted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane for placing himself forward of workforce. KKR bowed out of the event with a 110-run loss in opposition to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday on the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. “It is not written anywhere that a captain has to bat in the top three,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.“Look at Pant, he was sending players ahead of him, because they were in form and LSG took advantage of that,” he said. “KKR could have done the same. This was the team management and the coaching staff’s responsibility. See, even CSK did it against GT. Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis came up the order, they changed that up from the recent matches,” Sehwag said.With 390 runs in 13 matches, Ajinkya Rahane was the leading run-getter for KKR.In the post-match press conference on Sunday, Rahane had defended his decision not to open for KKR. Rahane was the highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, playing for Mumbai, he amassed 469 runs in eight innings with a breezy strike rate of 164.“Yes, I’d love to open. I’ve done well in Mushtaq Ali and other formats as an opener. But it’s about what the team needs,” he mentioned.Who’s that IPL participant?With Quinton de Kock mounted as an opener and final season’s success behind Sunil Narine’s explosive begins, Rahane mentioned he and Angkrish Raghuvanshi tailored to middle-order roles. “We didn’t want to change too much from a winning combination. We thought 3 and 4 was ideal for us.”Rahane additionally admitted that whereas the bowling unit did a commendable job within the IPL 2025, it was the batting that fell brief.“This season has been kind of up and down for us. We had our chances, but as a unit, we didn’t play really well,” Rahane mentioned.“If you win close matches, those are the differences. And the Punjab Kings game, LSG game, and also the CSK game, I thought those 2-3 games could have been slightly different.“What I saw as a captain was that everyone tried their best. It’s never easy to come into a season as defending champions — expectations are high. But I can say we gave our best and we’ll definitely come back stronger next year,” he added.