Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn minced no words as he tore into the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) management for keeping faith in Nicholas Pooran and sending him out in the Super Over against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Sunday. The left-handed batter has been woefully out of form in the tournament, looking a pale shadow of his old self. The move to send the former West Indies captain backfired as he was dismissed on the first ball of the Super Over by Sunil Narine, and LSG eventually just managed one run, and the target was overhauled by the three-time champions quite easily.
Pooran, viewed as one of the best T20 batters in the world, has managed just 82 runs in the 19th edition of the tournament so far, at an average of 10.25. In the regular game time against KKR, the 30-year-old returned with just nine runs off 12 balls and was eventually sent back to the hut by Varun Chakaravarthy.
The lack of form was no deterrent for skipper Rishabh Pant and coach Justin Langer as the duo sent Pooran alongside Aiden Markram for the Super Over. Narine, the arch-nemesis of Pooran, wasted no time in getting the better of the left-handed batter, dismissing him on the very first ball.
As soon as Pooran got out, Steyn took to social media to make a scathing statement about the batter’s form, saying at this rate, he can’t even touch water if he fell out of a boat. “Couldn’t hit water if he fell out a boat. Tough times,” Steyn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
‘Criminal decision’
Steyn, one of the best pacers to ever play the sport, further tore into the LSG think tank, calling them out for making a “criminal” move to send Pooran against Narine, knowing very well about his poor record against Narine and how once he was made to look like a novice by the spinner in the Caribbean Premier League.
“Three Super Overs for Nicholas Pooran in the IPL, three ducks. So, yes, absolutely. Would you send someone else? Of course. You’ve got players like Mitch Marsh, Rishabh Pant, and Mukul Choudhary. Given Pooran’s recent form, there were other options,” Steyn told broadcaster JioHotstar.
“He hasn’t scored more than 30 or 40 runs this season, I don’t know the exact numbers, but to send him in first ball in a Super Over to get you runs is almost a criminal decision,” he added.
In 2014, during a CPL match, Pooran faced off against Narine in the Super Over. In the five balls he faced against the spinner, four were dot balls, and eventually, he gave his wicket away on the fifth.
“It could have gone either way, but at this stage of the season, when you’re desperate to win, you don’t send in a batter who hasn’t delivered all season. You go with players who’ve been striking the ball well, guys you trust to clear the ropes, or at least back to do the job. I don’t even think Nicholas Pooran believes he can do it right now; he’s in such a bad run of form,” Steyn said.
“It’s unfortunate because he’s such a wonderful player. But when you’re trying to revive your season, you can’t afford blunders like that, not at this level,” he added.
With the loss against KKR on Sunday, LSG slipped to the bottom of the points table with just 4 points in eight matches.