Punjab Kings bowling coach Charl Langeveldt backed Sam Curran and claims the England player might have been bogged down by the pressure of his price tag in this IPL.
Charl Langeveldt backed Sam Curran
Punjab Kings spent a whopping INR 18.50 crores to bag Sam Curran during the IPL 2023 Auction. It remains a default thing, that the player who sold for the most will struggle to prove their worth in the season.
Andre Russell roared back to form by smashing Curran for three sixes off four balls to turn the match in favour of KKR who sealed a thrilling five-wicket win to keep their playoff hopes alive in the IPL here on Monday.
Sam Curran gave 20 runs in the penultimate over to finish with figures of 3-0-44-0.
“He’s a winner. You want to back him. He’s our senior bowler as well, you can have days like this,” the South African said at the post-match media interaction.
“He’s one of those players who can come back and win us a game. It’s just about going back to the drawing board, keep it as simple as possible.”
Hailing Russell’s knock, Langeveldt said: “He’s always a massive player, a game changer. We wanted to keep him quiet and tried to bowl outside his hitting zone.”
Kagiso Rabada has played just five matches this season for PBKS as they preferred Nathan Ellis over the South African, and Langeveldt said it’s a no-brainer.
“Ellis has been bowling well. He’s been our go-to guy, bowls well inside the powerplay and handles pressure.
“It was a simple decision. I didn’t even think about that and said ‘Okay, we need to go with Ellis’, and he produced again tonight,” he said.
Punjab Kings currently hold the 7th spot in the IPL 2023 points table and will play the next game against Delhi Capitals on May 13.
