"Should be happening behind closed doors" - Graeme Smith unhappy with LSG owner confronting KL Rahul in public after defeat to SRH in IPL 2024

Former South African captain Graeme Smith expressed his surprise at Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka confronting skipper KL Rahul after the team's 10-wicket loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday, May 8. Although Smith understands the emotions rolled over, he reckons such things shouldn't happen in front of the cameras.

Following the crushing defeat at the hands of the SunRisers, Goenka was seen speaking furiously to the captain and seemingly questioning his plans on the field. Netizens reacted to the viral clip by urging the right-handed batter to leave the franchise next year and opt for a better one.

Smith spoke about the incident on Jio Cinema and stated:

"It's the owner who is very passionate about his team. His team has taken an absolute drubbing, and the emotions have rolled over. You feel these conversations should be happening behind closed doors. There are so many cameras around; they're not missing anything. KL Rahul would now go to press conferences and other things and potentially explain what's been discussed."

Rahul's 29-run knock off 33 deliveries came under fire as the Super Giants managed 165 in 20 overs on a surface that looked two-paced. However, the SunRisers needed only 9.4 overs to chase it down as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma leathered the LSG bowlers.

---

"Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat" - KL Rahul

KL Rahul. (Image Credits: Twitter)

At the post-match presentation, KL Rahul admitted that he was at a loss for words, given how the SRH openers struck the ball as they were unstoppable.

"Am lost for words. We have watched that kind of batting on tv. But this is unreal batting. Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat. Kudos to their skills. They have worked hard on their six-hitting skills. They didn't give us a chance to know what the pitch played in the second innings. Was hard to stop them as they teed off from ball one. Once you are on the losing side, there are question marks on the decisions taken," the 32-year-old elaborated.

With the SunRisers chasing the target down in 10 overs, they have significantly strengthened their playoff hopes.