Former India opener Virender Sehwag weighed in on the growing attention surrounding Ajinkya Rahane and suggested that players should respond to criticism with calm rather than emotion.Rahane recently found himself in the limelight after he reacted strongly to questions about his strike following Kolkata Knight Riders’ clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Defending his approach, the KKR captain pointed to his numbers in recent seasons and hit back at critics.
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Ajinkya Rahane press conference: KKR skipper backs bowlers, hits back at SR critics “My strike rate… I have one of the best strike rates ever, since 2023. People who are talking probably don’t follow the game or have some agenda against me. They don’t like me playing,” Rahane said.The KKR skipper also grabbed headlines earlier for his scathing response regarding Cameron Green’s absence with the ball after the opening loss to Mumbai Indians, directing the question to Cricket Australia.Responding to these comments, Sehwag felt that Rahane was engaging in avoidable exchanges and urged a more balanced approach.“I don’t think the players should be saying all that. I know he’s the captain and he was asked why Cameron Green wasn’t bowling. He didn’t have a straight answer, so he said he would ask Cricket Australia,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.“I understand that. But if someone questions my strike rate or batting style, people will praise and criticize you, but you have to be neutral about both. Why the need to get into such fights?” asked Sehwag.Sehwag drew parallels with some of the biggest names in Indian cricket and pointed out how the legends handled criticism without a public backlash.“They seem to be responding to critics, but even Bachchan saab (Amitabh Bachchan) never responded to his critics. There can be no greater example than Tendulkar, one newspaper even wrote ‘Endulkar,'” Sehwag added.On the field, Rahane started IPL 2026 with a fluent 67 off 40 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, striking at 167.5. However, he followed that up with just eight run-offs in 10 deliveries in KKR’s first home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.Criticism intensified as Kolkata Knight Riders endured a tough start to the season. They lost their opening two matches and after rain forced a withdrawal, they picked up a point in the third match against Punjab Kings.In this match, KKR were already under pressure at 25/2 in 3.4 overs, with Finn Allen and Cameron Green dismissed cheaply before the weather intervened.The team’s struggles went beyond the results as their batting order failed and Rahane opted to open. Meanwhile, Green’s continued absence with the ball due to injury has added to uncertainty about the balance of the side.
