Before the IPL mini-auction in December last year, KKR were very busy during the trading window and acquired the services of Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur (from Delhi Capitals), New Zealand seamer Lockie Ferguson (from Gujarat Titans) and Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz (from Gujarat Titans).
Shardul was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore in the 2022 mega-auction and the franchise traded him for all-rounder Aman Khan, who was acquired by KKR for Rs 20 lakh. Shardul’s trade meant KKR didn’t have a big purse to play with at the mini-auction but the franchise was very confident with their retentions and trades, and felt the core wore a strong look.
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With two wins out of five they have played so far, KKR are seventh on the points table but have shown a lot of promise under new captain Nitish Rana. The big question, however, remains the role side expects Shardul to play in remainder of the season. So far, the all-rounder has completed his quota of overs only in the opening fixture against Punjab Kings and managed just two wickets in the five fixtures. With the bat, he played a blinder in the home fixture against RCB where the right-hander smashed a 29-ball 68 at No.7 and helped the side register a massive 81-run win.
In an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar talks about the role Shardul is expected to play, how the season has been so far, the freak innings of Rinku Singh against Gujarat Titans, the return of Venkatesh Iyer, captaincy of Nitish Rana and more. Edited Excerpts:
Two wins, three losses but plenty of promise from KKR this season so far. How would you evaluate the run?
I would say we have been unfortunate on a couple of occasions. The first game, we could have won if the rain didn’t come in and after that we have played some really good cricket. Like you said, plenty of positives because we got some new characters coming and standing up for the team and performing. Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana have been tremendous for the time. Rahmanullah Gurbaz at times. So I think the good part of it is that Andre Russell hasn’t fired yet but we are still doing so well. So lots of positives. Shardul Thakur playing a blinder. So we have had lot of heroes in every game. That’s a positive.
Like I said, you look back at the five games and we could have been four games up. But that’s the nature of the beast and that’s how T20 cricket is. But I think overall we have been playing good cricket and it’s about making sure that we win those one percenters, and win those games as well.
Venkatesh Iyer credited you for his maiden century in the IPL. What kind of work went behind the scenes from his injury to recovery to domination on the field?
For every cricketer, who undergoes surgery and has been out of cricket for a long time, a lot of people take their place. Sometimes, with all the cricket in India, a cricketer can be forgotten. Venkatesh Iyer not having a great IPL and then getting injured when he was having a good domestic season. I think it really impacted him. When we were working, it was more about making a comeback rather than what had happened. So the outlook and the mindset was more about making sure that we prepare the way we want to prepare to have a really successful campaign so that people again remember that one season Iyer had was not a fluke.
He is that kind of player who everyone has to fear. And I think that was more around what we worked. Understanding his game plan and strengths and understanding how he is going to overcome certain oppositions tactically, and not play the same brand of cricket he has been playing. I think there was a lot of work we did mentally in terms of understanding his game plans and also in terms of his skills. Identifying what his strengths and weaknesses are.
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KKR retained Venkatesh Iyer. How pleasing is it to see him deliver again?
It’s something we discussed when we started off. It’s something he wanted to do as well. He really felt the faith the franchise put into him, in terms of retaining him, ahead of a lot of other players. So it was one of the things we did talk about and it feels good because we always believed and knew that he has the potential, and he is a special player who hits very different areas and has the talent to take on big attacks. That is something we always knew, we always believed and which is why we retained him. We have always shown trust in him and will continue to do so.
Chandrakant Pandit, yourself and Nitish Rana. Not many IPL backroom set-ups have so much Indian presence. You feel KKR is setting a template for other teams to follow?
When Venky (Mysore) made this decision, the understanding of having 17-18 Indian players in the set-up… obviously helps to have an Indian set-up (coaching staff). In terms of communication, language barrier and also understanding the culture. It makes it easier. Well I think it’s for each team to identify what works for them, what doesn’t. But I know there’s a decent amount of Indian contingent with every team.
Having Chandu sir as coach is obviously tremendous because he has been a legend in his coaching career and he has always been the person who has turned around teams. So it’s great to have someone with that kind of experience in domestic cricket to understand domestic cricketers and we do have a lot of young, domestic cricketers. So I think it’s a boon that we have someone with that sort of experience as our head coach.
How has it been working with Chandu sir in the IPL set-up?
Well, it’s been interesting and a bit different. The last time I worked with him was as a player and I have always had player-coach interactions with him before the IPL. To be honest, it’s been great for me because I am getting to learn on the job as well. Understanding how he deals with cricketers, how he deals with certain situations as an Indian coach. For me, the transition from a player-coach relationship to an assistant coach-head coach relationship has been smooth. And because we had the understanding and knew each other from before, it’s been smooth sailing and a learning curve for me.
You would have seen many freak innings during your playing and coaching days but how special was that Rinku Singh knock?
It was as freakish as freakish could be. For me, it was never expected. In that over, I was having a conversation with Varun Chakravarthy about certain things he felt about the game and even in the dugout, I would be lying if I said that we would win that game. We just hoped that we could get as close to the total possible. If Rinku could hit some lusty blows in the last over to take us close to the total if anything. But then as the game was unfolding, with every six the belief increased. With every six, we started to believe ‘is this a possibility? is this going to happen? is this going to be that fairytale finish for Rinku Singh?’.
As the game went on and after it happened, it was unreal to see Chandu sir run. It was an emotion you couldn’t control because it was something none of us expected could happen. It was special and for all the years of hard work he has put in, I believe it’s the start of something special for Rinku Singh. It’s not the end.
Shardul Thakur was one of the top trades of KKR before the season. What kind of role is expected from him?
Very similar to what Pat Cummins was doing for us. Playing at No.7 as a lower-order bat and someone who contribute with the bat and bowl those critical overs and close out games for us. That’s the role he does for India and that’s the role we aspire from him for us.
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How were preparations like before the season at the KKR Academy in Mumbai?
I think we had terrific preparations and lot of the results you see today are because of the preparations we had. We almost spent a month in Mumbai, we had a camp when everyone was here. Even the foreign coaches had come to India. Post that, we had another camp in Kolkata. Lot of time and energy was spent by everyone at the Academy, including Chandu sir, the S&C coaches, the physios. Making sure we have reached the fitness standards we wanted to achieve, the skills we aspire them to have. A lot of hardwork was put in then. It’s heartening to see all the Indian players doing so well. A lot of credit of that goes to the hardwork the boys had put in prior to the IPL.
There’s so much mystery in KKR ranks with Sunil Narine, Varun and now Suyash Sharma. How exciting have the net sessions become?
It’s obviously exciting. With excitement come different challenges when you have so much talent around. It’s also about how you understand that talent and direct them in the direction you want them to go. I think it’s great to have so many bowlers with different skillsets, and how they complement each other. But I think the challenge is to also understand that one of them is really young and he (Suyash) is getting to learn a lot on the job with Varun and Narine.
At top of the order, we have seen Gurbaz. But KKR also have the options of Litton Das and Jason Roy.
It’s always great to have options. I always believed that in a long tournament – 14 games – you need to have options and you need to have backups because there are going to be times when a batter goes through lulls, there are going to be injuries, there are going to be other concerns. You need top players sitting on the bench to make sure that you have the reinforcement when required. So it’s always a blessing to have top players waiting in the wings to get in the team and it’s always a positive sign that you have them. Shows that the team is doing really well.
How would you rate Nitish Rana’s captaincy so far? He has looked calm under pressure so far.
I think that’s the key. The team makes the captain look good or bad. What he has done really well is that he has handled himself really well on the field. He has understood that with captaincy come different pressures but he has not let it show on his face or in his batting. He has turned up every time the team needs him and he has also been very good tactically. He is not someone who has never led. He has experience of captaincy leading his state side. But just to see him doing good at the big stage, is heartening to see and I am hopeful and I wish that he has a successful tenure going forward.
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