Former India batter Mohammad Kaif hit out at Punjab Kings (PBKS) for retiring out set-batter Atharva Taide mid-way through the chase in the IPL 2023 match against Delhi Capitals, citing it an 'extremely poor decision'.
Chasing 214, when Punjab needed 86 runs in 30 balls, a tactical move saw PBKS retire out Taide in the 15th over, bringing an end to a 50-ball 78-run second-wicket partnership with Liam Livingstone.
Taide scored a 42-ball 55 as Livingstone's stunning knock of unbeaten 82 off 37 went in vain as the Shikhar Dhawan-led side went on to lose the match by 15 runs at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Wednesday to virtually bow out of the playoff race.
Speaking during the post-match discussion on Star Sports, Kaif criticised PBKS decision by citing an example of Rinku Singh and Rahul Tewatia."Extremely poor decision to ask him to come out. Why do you talk about Rinku Singh and Tewatia? Rinku Singh was a run-a-ball at the start and Tewatia was on 13 off 21 balls. They hit five sixes after that," Kaif said.
"Taide was scoring at a strike rate of 130 and was a set batter alongside Liam Livingstone. Livingstone was playing fast and Taide was performing his role. He is an uncapped player who was hitting fours and sixes." he said.
Kaif further pointed out that the Kings' incoming batters after Taide were all dismissed quickly, adding that such moves rarely produce the desired outcomes."He had gotten his eye in and you asked him to come out when it was the time to hit sixes. Very bad decision because who came after that - Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan and Sam Curran - all of them came and got out. If the decision had been good, I would have praised them.
"If you check the stats, whenever such a thing has been done that a set batter has been asked to come out, how many times has the new batter won the match? Show me the stats, I will concede defeat," he added.