Harbhajan Singh, a former Indian cricketer, recently praised Sam Curran, the stand-in captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS), before their IPL 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 28, Friday. PBKS has won four out of their seven matches in the league stage but has been affected by regular captain Shikhar Dhawan’s shoulder injury, which kept him out of the last three matches.
In Dhawan’s absence, all-rounder Curran, who was the most expensive pick in last year’s auction with a whopping sum of ₹18.5 crores, has taken charge of PBKS. Under Curran’s leadership, PBKS has beaten LSG and five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians away from home. Harbhajan Singh, speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, expressed that players like Sam Curran have made PBKS appear as a powerful team. He said,
“Sam Curran has handled the captaincy well in Shikhar’s absence. Along with the ball, he also looked impressive with the bat. The Punjab team looks strong because of players like Sam Curran.”
Ravi Shastri: “Sanju Samson has matured as a captain”
On Thursday, April 27, Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 32 runs to reclaim the top spot in the points table. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal played a superb knock of 77 runs off 43 balls, including eight boundaries and four sixes, to help RR reach 202 runs on a spin-assisting track in Jaipur. RR captain Sanju Samson deployed three experienced spinners, Adam Zampa (3/22), Ravichandran Ashwin (2/35), and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/21), to defend the huge score successfully.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised Jaiswal’s batting and Samson’s captaincy for leading RR to the top, and said,
“Yashasvi Jaiswal’s batting and Sanju Samson’s captaincy have taken RR to the top. Samson deserves all the praise. It is not easy to beat a strong team like CSK twice in a season, but Sanju achieved a 2-0 score against this side on the basis of tremendous preparation and excellent strategy.”
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri also commended Samson’s maturity as a captain, and said,
“Sanju Samson has matured as a captain. He uses his spinners very well. Only a good captain can play with three spinners and use them smartly.”
RR is the only team to have defeated CSK twice this season so far. The next match for Sanju Samson & Co. will be against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 30, in Mumbai.
