Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sajiv Goenka has been receiving a severe backlash from the fans after the video of him publicly scolding skipper KL Rahul after the humiliating defeat against went viral on social media.
LSG were brutally thrashed by SRH openers Travis Head (89*) and Abhishek Sharma (75*) as they formed an unbeaten 167-run partnership to chase down a 166-run target in 9.4 overs. For the first time in the history of T20 cricket, the target of over 150 runs was chased down in 10 overs.
After the match, Sanjiv Goenka was spotted furiously talking to KL Rahul as the LSG owner was visibly displeased by the way team performed against SRH. The billionaire businessman was apparently unhappy with certain decisions taken by the skipper on the field while defending the total of 165.
The video was spread like wildfire on social media and fans were upset with Sanjiv Goenka's outburst at KL Rahul. Many slammed the LSG owner for his behaviour while others said that businessman should have controlled his emotions when the cameras were all around in the stadium.
Not the first time Sanjiv Goenka facing backlash from fans
This was not the first time that LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka has been at the receiving end of the fans for publicly scolding skipper KL Rahul. Back in 2017, when Goenka owned an IPL team Rising Pune SuperGiants (RPSG), he took a bold decision that upset the cricket fans.
Sanjiv Goenka decided to sack MS Dhoni from the leadership position at the Rising Pune Super Giants and appointed Steve Smith as the captain ahead of IPL 2017. In their debut IPL season in 2016, RPSG had a disappointing campaign under the captaincy of MS Dhoni as they finished seventh in the league with five wins in their 11 outings and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
On the decision to sack MS Dhoni, Goenka said, "Dhoni has not stepped down. We have appointed Steve Smith as the skipper for the upcoming season. Frankly speaking, we did not have a good last season, and we wanted someone young to lead the side and revamp it ahead of the upcoming season 10."
Harsh Goenka hailed his younger brother Sanjiv's decision to sack MS Dhoni. Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Harsh wrote, 'Smith proves who is the king of the jungle. Overshawdows Dhoni totally. Captain's innings. Great move to appoint him as captain.
Though the tweet was deleted was long back by Harsh Goenka, the screenshot of the tweet resurfaced after Sajiv Goenka's incident.
His tweet received a lot of backlash from the fans back then. Rising Pune Super Giants became defunct after 2016 as Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned to IPL in 2018 after serving two years ban.
