Ahead of the IPL mini-auction in December last year, KKR were very busy during the trading window and picked up the services of Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur (from Delhi Capitals), New Zealand seamer Lockie Ferguson (from Gujarat Titans) and… Afghanistan Wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz (from Gujarat Titans).
Shardul was bought by Delhi Capitals in the 2022 mega-auction for Rs 10.75 crore and the franchise traded him for all-rounder Aman Khan, who was bought by KKR for Rs 20 lakh. The trade of Shardul meant that KKR did not have a huge purse to play with in the mini-auction, but the franchise was very confident with its retentions and trades, and felt that the core had worn a strong form.
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With two wins from five games played so far, KKR are seventh on the points table but have shown a lot of promise under new skipper Nitish Rana. However, the big question is whether Shardul is expected to play a role in the rest of the season. So far, the all-rounder has completed his quota of overs only in the opening match against Punjab Kings and has managed just two wickets in five matches. With the bat, he played a stellar role in the home fixture against RCB where the right-handed batsman smashed a 29-ball 68 at No.7 to help the team register a massive 81-run win.
In an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar talks about Shardul’s role, how the season has been so far, Rinku Singh’s brilliant knock against Gujarat Titans, Venkatesh Iyer’s comeback, Nitish Rana’s captaincy and more. Edited excerpts:
Two wins, three losses but KKR have shown a lot of promise this season so far. How would you rate the run?
I would say we’ve been unlucky on a number of occasions. The first match, we could have won had it not rained and after that we played very good cricket. Like you said, there are a lot of positives because we got some new characters to come in and stand up for the team and perform. Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana have been terrific for the time being. Rahmanullah Gurbaz sometimes. So I think the good part of it is that Andre Russell hasn’t fired yet but we’re still doing well. Lots of positives. Shardul Thakur playing a blinder. That’s why we have had so many heroes in every game. He is positive.
Like I said, you look at five games and we could have been four games up. But that is the nature of the beast and T20 cricket is like that. But I think overall we are playing good cricket and it is about making sure we get those one percentage points and win those games as well.
Venkatesh Iyer credits you for his maiden century in IPL. From recovering from his injury to dominating on the field, what kind of work has been done behind the scenes?
For every cricketer who undergoes surgery and is out of cricket for a long time, there are many who take their place. Sometimes, with all the cricket in India, a cricketer can be forgotten. Venkatesh Iyer didn’t have a great IPL and then when he was having a good domestic season, he got injured. I think it really affected him. When we were working, it was more about giving back than what happened. So the approach and the mindset was more about making sure that we prepare the way we want to prepare for a really successful campaign so that people remember again that Iyer didn’t suddenly have one season.
He is the kind of player everyone should fear. And I think it was more around the work that we did. Understanding his game plan and strengths and understanding how he is going to outsmart some opponents, and not play the same brand of cricket that he has been playing. I think we did a lot of mental work in terms of understanding his game plan and his skills. Identifying his strengths and weaknesses.
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KKR retained Venkatesh Iyer. How great is it to see Him deliver again?
This is something we discussed when we started. This is something he wanted to do as well. He really felt the trust reposed in him by the franchise in terms of retaining him, ahead of many other players. So that was one of the things that we talked about and it feels good because we always believed and knew he had the ability, and he’s a special player who hits a lot of different areas and Has the talent to face big attacks. It’s something we’ve always known, we’ve always believed, and that’s why we’ve kept at it. We have always shown faith in him and will continue to do so.
Chandrakant Pandit, you and Nitish Rana. Not many IPL backroom set-ups have this much Indian presence. Do you think KKR is setting a template for other teams to follow?
When Venky (Mysore) took that decision, the understanding of having 17-18 Indian players in the set-up… obviously helps an Indian set-up (coaching staff). Also in terms of communication, language barrier and understanding the culture. Makes it easy. Well, I guess it’s up to each team to identify what works for them, what doesn’t. But I know there is a sizeable Indian contingent with each team.
It is obviously tremendous to have Chandu Sir as coach as he has been a legend in his coaching career and he has always been someone who has turned teams around. So it’s great to have someone with that kind of experience in domestic cricket to understand the domestic cricketers and we have got a lot of young domestic cricketers. So I think it’s a blessing that we have someone with that kind of experience as our head coach.
How has it been working with Chandu sir in the IPL set-up?
Well, this has been interesting and a little different. The last time I worked with him was as a player and I always have player-coach talks with him before the IPL. To be honest, it has been great for me as I am getting to learn along with working. 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 seamless. And because we had that understanding and knew each other beforehand, it’s been smooth sailing and a learning curve for me.
You must have seen many strange innings during your playing and coaching days but how special was that innings of Rinku Singh?
It was as weird as freak can be. I never expected this. In that over, I was having a chat with Varun Chakravarthy about a few things about the game and even in the dugout I was lying if I said we would win that game. We just hoped that we could get as close to the total as possible. If Rinku can hit some big sixes in the last over to take us closer to the total, then come what may. But then as the game progressed, the confidence grew with every six. With every six, we started to believe ‘is this a possibility? Is that supposed to happen? Is this going to be a fairy tale ending for Rinku Singh?’.
It was unreal to see Chandu sir running away as the game went on and after that. It was a feeling that you could not control because it was something that none of us had expected. It was special and despite so many years of hard work, I believe this is the beginning of something special for Rinku Singh. This is not the end.
Shardul Thakur was one of the top traders of KKR ahead of the season. What kind of roles are expected from him?
Exactly what Pat Cummins was doing for us. Playing as a lower-order batsman at No.7 and someone who contributes with the bat and bowls those crucial overs and closes the game for us. That is the role he plays for India and that is the role we expect him to play.
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How was the preparation ahead of the season at the KKR Academy in Mumbai?
I think we had prepared well and the result you are seeing today is because of our preparation. We spent almost a month in Mumbai, we had our camp when everyone was here. Even foreign coaches had come to India. After that, we had another camp in Kolkata. A lot of time and energy was spent by everyone in the academy including Chandu sir, S&C coach, physio. Making sure we have reached the fitness standards we wanted to achieve, the skills we aspired to have. A lot of hard work was done then. It is heartening to see all the Indian players performing so well. Much of the credit for this goes to the hard work put in by the boys ahead of the IPL.
There is a lot of mystery in the KKR ranks with Sunil Narine, Varun and now Suyash Sharma. How exciting have net sessions become?
This is clearly exciting. With excitement comes different challenges when you have so much talent. It is also about how you spot that talent and guide them in the direction you want them to take. I think it’s great to have so many bowlers with different skills and how they complement each other. But I think the challenge is also to understand that one of them is really young and he (Suyyash) has a lot to learn while working with Varun and Naren.
Above all we have seen Gurbaj. But KKR also have options in Liton Das and Jason Roy.
It’s always good to have options. I’ve always believed that in a long tournament – 14 games – you have to have options and you have to have backups because there’s going to be a time when one batsman is going to slack off, injuries are going to happen, others are going to happen. There are concerns. You need top players sitting on the bench to make sure you have reinforcements when required. So it is always a blessing to wait for top players to join the team and it is always a positive sign that you have them. Shows 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 good or bad. What he has done really well is that he has handled himself really well on the field. He has understood that there are different kinds of pressures that come with captaincy but he hasn’t let it show on his face or in his batting. He has bounced back every time the team has needed him and he has been very good tactically as well. He is not someone who has never led. He has the captaincy experience to lead his state side. But it is heartening to see him doing well on the big stage and I am hopeful and I wish him a successful tenure ahead.
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