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Plagued by injuries and unavailability of a few foreign players, both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders would still look to put their best foot forward as they lock horns in their opening IPL encounter in Mohali on Saturday. These are the two franchises, which over the years have flattered to deceive. Inconsistency in team selections seemed to have also affected the them badly.
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit is hoping that their full time skipper Shreyas Iyer will return to action "very soon" and until then, he expects Nitish Rana to do well in the high-pressure leadership role. A recurring back injury is likely to keep Iyer out of action for the first half of the IPL. He had also missed the first and fourth Test against Australia due to the persistent back issues. "Whatever little cricket I have played or coached, I have never gone back over things like squad unavailability. Shreyas' absence will make a difference since he is important, but this is truly unfortunate. "We are hoping Shreyas will be back very soon and that will make a lot of difference to the team," Pandit said on Tuesday night.
Newly-appointed Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana on Tuesday said he is up for the responsibility given to him and would bank on man management to deliver results for the side in the upcoming IPL. "Man management is important because at the end of the day, it is a game of cricket," Nitish said in a press conference. "I have been playing the leadership role for the last 2-3 years, it's just that I got the captaincy tag but it's nothing new to me. I like to take responsibility and, hopefully, I will be able to deliver.
Nitish Rana has been appointed stand-in skipper for Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer who suffered a back injury during the recently concluded Test series between India and Australia. Several media reports suggested that both Rana and veteran West Indies spinner Sunil Narine were being considered for the leadership role, but the franchise confirmed their decision on social media. Rana, who has been part of the KKR side since 2018, has led Delhi in white-ball cricket and he will be supported by senior cricketers like Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan.
India batter Shreyas Iyer is all set to miss the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a recurruing lower back issue, which may require surgery. Reports, however, have suggested that Iyer is yet to take a call on having a surgery despite it being recommended by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). While his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are monitoring his progress, Iyer is more concerned about his participation in the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the World Cup.
Shreyas Iyer's injury and three back-to-back failures for Suryakumar Yadav in ODIs have once again put Team India in the same boat as in the 2019 ODI World Cup, feels former pacer Zaheer Khan. Leading to the mega event four years back, India were struggling to find a permanent batter at the number 4 position. It was one of the reasons that the team could not advance after the semi-final of the tournament. The 50-over World Cup will be taking place in India this time and Zaheer feels that the host team needs to relook at the number 4 batting position.
Injury concerns are growing for Team India in a year when the Rohit Sharma-led side is set to take part in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup on home soil. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah is battling a long-term injury and will the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as well as the WTC final. Now, reports have been doing round that batter Shreyas Iyer too has been ruled out of action for a lengthy period.
Kolkata Knight Riders were dealt a massive blow ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 as sources told NDTV that skipper Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to injury. Shreyas suffered a back injury during the Test series against Australia and he is scheduled to undergo back surgery that will sideline him for 2-3 months. The absence of Iyer – who was bought for Rs 12.25 crore in 2022 – will be huge for KKR as they will be missing a prominent batter. In the absence of Shreyas, here are the three cricketers who can replace him as KKR skipper -