KL Rahul recounts Sanjiv Goenka's spirited conversation during IPL 2024 loss: 'Wasn't the most pleasant experience'

New Delhi: With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, Lucknow Super Giants needed a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep their chances alive. Despite setting a target of 166 with a score of 165/4 in 20 overs, LSG faced a tough time on a challenging wicket. To their dismay, SRH effortlessly chased down the target in just 9.4 overs without losing a wicket, crushing LSG's dreams of making it to the playoffs.

Following the heavy loss, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka, visibly frustrated, was captured on camera in a spirited conversation with captain KL Rahul. Reflecting on the incident later on Star Sports, Rahul said, “Whatever happened on the field after the game wasn’t the nicest thing to be part of or something that anyone wants to see on the cricket field. So yeah, I think it did affect the entire group.”

Once the retention process concluded and Rahul was not retained by the franchise, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka openly discussed the reasoning behind their choices. “The first retention was an automatic choice and happened within two minutes, that is Nicholas Pooran. We had a very simple mindset to go in with players who have a mindset to win, who put the team before their personal goals and aspirations,” he explained.

“The pressure is already high in the IPL. You see teams like Gujarat and CSK and all of these teams and you see even when they win or lose, they seem really balanced, the dressing room is really calm and that’s something very important to me as a player. If that happens, it gives all the players the best chance to perform. We tried that at LSG with Andy Flower and GG (Gautam Gambhir) first and then last year we had Justin Langer. We tried to create that in the changing room and I think it was a brilliant atmosphere in the changing room but sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself,” he added.