After enduring a home defeat to the defending champions Gujarat Titans, the Lucknow Super Giants set off to Mohali to battle it out with the Punjab Kings on Friday. LSG’s skipper, KL Rahul, who was subjected to heavy criticism over his sluggish performance in the previous match and his strike rate in the ongoing IPL 2023, suffered an early dismissal on Friday, going for 12 off nine, after Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan opted to bowl first.
Post his dismissal, the IPL broadcasters presented a poll to the audience asking, “Which Indian legend will finish his IPL career with more runs – Dhawan or Rahul?”. The poll was open on IPL’s website, and after LSG were down for two wickets in their innings, the broadcasters later presented the results. Dhawan was slightly preferred (57 per cent) over Rahul (47).
The IPL broadcasters, who aimed to keep the viewers engaged, commonly post various questions to understand the thoughts of the fans, usually via a poll, on both TV and digital platforms. However, during the LSG vs. Punjab Kings match on Friday, the IPL broadcasters were ruthlessly ridiculed over the questions they presented, including the aforementioned poll that compared the two captains.
Fans were left bewildered, not by the query presented but by KL Rahul being recognized as an “India legend.” Twitter was abuzz with reactions, and this was primarily due to the ongoing criticism directed at Rahul over his strike rate. In eight matches, he has accumulated 274 runs and is in the race for the Orange Cap, a prize awarded to the batsman with the most runs in the tournament, which he has won in the previous seasons. However, the runs have come at a strike rate of only 114.64, accompanied by two fifties.