'What's the point of this 200 strike rate? - Virender Sehwag blasts RR's decision to send exceptional batter late at No. 7

Former India opener Virender Sehwag has criticized Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson and coach Kumar Sangakkara for sending Shimron Hetmyer at a lower order in their match against Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023. Sehwag believes that the decision to demote Hetmyer cost RR the match as they fell short by five runs despite the West Indies international's brilliant cameo of 36 off 18 balls.

RR lost momentum after the wicket of their star batsman Jos Buttler and were struggling to keep up with the asking rate. But instead of sending Hetmyer, RR decided to bat Devdutt Padikkal, who struggled in the middle. To everyone's surprise, it was not Hetmyer at No.6, it was Riyan Parag. By the time Hetmyer came in to bat, the asking rate had climbed to 13 runs an over. The hard-hitting left-hander hit some lusty blows, but it was too late as Sam Curran held his nerve in the last over to snatch a five-run win for PBKS.

Sehwag was not pleased with this decision and said that Hetmyer did not get enough balls to bat and should have batted ahead of Parag and Padikkal. "He didn't get enough balls to bat. What's the point of this 200 strike rate? If he had batted at No.4 or 5, came ahead of Riyan Parag or even before Padikkal, he is a lefty too, then he would have gotten more balls to bat. He bats at No.4 for the West Indies. He has scored a century in India, knows the conditions well enough," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Sanju Samson and Kumar Sangakkara face Sehwag's wrath

He also added that Hetmyer has contributed for RR last year and had a crucial role in taking Delhi Capitals to the finals when he was a part of their squad. Sehwag believes that Hetmyer could have won the game for RR with an over to spare had he been sent in earlier. He criticized Samson and Sangakkara's decision and said that they made an error by not sending Hetmyer earlier.

Sehwag's comments came after RR's defeat, which could have been avoided had Hetmyer batted higher up in the order. The former India opener minced no words and said that it was an error on Sangakkara and Samson's part.

It remains to be seen whether Rajasthan Royals will take Sehwag's advice and send Hetmyer higher up the order in their upcoming matches. But one thing is for sure that they cannot afford any more errors if they want to qualify for the playoffs in this season of IPL.