IPL 2018: Kolkata Knight Riders have an able leader in Dinesh Karthik; Mitchell Johnson as frontline pacer augurs well

When Dinesh Karthik assumed an MS Dhoni avatar in the Nidahas Trophy tri-series final last month, he was the toast of the nation, as he should have been. Sent much later than he usually would have been, Karthik used his bat as a blazing scimitar, slicing the Bangladesh attack to pieces. All he faced that evening were eight balls. That’s all he needed to dash Bangladesh’s hopes and prove himself as a real match-winner. India were in a spot of considerable bother against the resolute Shakib Al Hasan and Co when Karthik came to the crease, with newcomer Vijay Shankar nearly giving the Indian camp a heart attack by suffering stage fright himself, and many wondered why the experienced Karthik was not sent in earlier. [caption id=“attachment_4417963” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Captain Dinesh Karthik (2R) and other members of the KR squad during practice. Twitter/@KKRiders[/caption] But then came the explosion. With 6,4,6,0,2,4,1, Karthik had brought India almost on the threshold of victory and, then with five needed off the last ball, the unassuming India wicketkeeper drove hard at a delivery outside off stump, sending it over extra cover, and refreshing memories of Javed Miandad’s last-ball six against India in the Australasia Cup in Sharjah, in 1986, or more recently, Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes on the trot in the last over to win the World T20 for the West Indies in 2016. Much as he was the darling of the whole of India after this innings, there was one set of fans who would have put Karthik on an absolute pedestal, and those were the ones rooting for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Kolkata franchise had made a big investment, putting Karthik in charge of a team, which had soared high and handsome under the irrepressible Gautam Gambhir, and after the Nidahas Trophy final, the KKR management’s decision stood richly vindicated. “In eight balls, he (Karthik) has made us look like geniuses. But we were convinced even before that, that he is absolutely the right choice for us because he brings in a lot of freshness, a lot of experience. He is a class player. With a wicketkeeper, batsman and captain you get three in one there,” said an elated KKR MD and CEO Venky  Mysore after Karthik’s ‘Tiger hunt’.

But while Karthik’s credentials as a batsman and wicketkeeper are beyond doubt, the question ever since he was named the KKR captain was if he had it in him to steer the KKR ship with the same panache as Gambhir. The Delhi southpaw, who has returned home to captain Delhi Daredevils this year, had totally metamorphosised the floundering franchise of the first three years of the IPL into one of the biggest forces of the league, taking them to two titles. For all his captaincy experience with Tamil Nadu, it has to be acknowledged that Karthik has huge shoes to fill at KKR. And Karthik knows that fully well.

“I will give it my best. KKR have a legacy of its own. I will be honoured if I can continue that legacy in the right direction. I don’t want to put brakes on it and change the way things are done here,” he said during an interaction with the media after being named to lead the Kolkata side. “In terms of being an aggressive captain I am somebody who is not aggressive outwardly by nature, but that doesn’t mean I am not aggressive inside,” he added. Indeed even at the Nidahas Trophy final, the way he led the chase, seizing the initiative when there was a crying need to do so, speaks volumes of his leadership skills, and he looks good to carry Gambhir’s legacy forward. And Karthik will be buoyed by the knowledge that he has a KKR old hand and the supremely efficient Robin Uthappa as his deputy. Explosive batsmen, who can easily double up as wicketkeepers, but both of whom unfortunately have not been able to cement their places in the Indian side — there are so many similarities between the captain and vice-captain of KKR and they are well acquainted with each other since their junior cricket days. That being so, and with the likes of Jacques Kallis — a former ‘Knight’ himself — and Simon Katich as part of the coaching staff, you would never have to worry about strategising. And talking of strategies, some of it was visible during the auctions itself. Perhaps the most flamboyant franchise in the league, KKR’s player retention and auction tactics were different and a cut above the rest, though it was difficult to fathom at the start. One felt they had put all their eggs in one basket, going whole hog for a few superstars (Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell), some of whose participation were under cloud, and ending up with too few resources to spend on building a team to support those marquee names. It also seemed that KKR had invested too much in spin, but not bolstered their pace department enough. Their spin attack comprising Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla would be the envy of any team, but they lack a frontline Indian quick in their ranks. Yes, South African Cameron Delport and the West Indian Russell give them handy pace-bowling options, both of whom can bat a fair bit as well, and they also have the Under-19 sensations Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, but KKR should not have let Umesh Yadav go. After all, the character of the pitch at their home ground — the Eden Gardens — had changed to support pace than spin, unlike earlier times. However, the defining character of KKR’s squad selection has been that they have backed to the hilt players that they have reposed faith in. “It has nothing to do with age, it has everything to do with skills and it so happened that three of the boys that we picked up were from the victorious Under-19 World Cup team — Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. What they have done is tremendous and people who have been around them — Rahul Dravid and the whole team — were effusive in praising them for the skills that they brought,” Mysore had said.

KKR were, however, dealt a body blow when Starc, on whom they had ploughed a staggering Rs 9.4 crore hurt his leg during Australia’s Test series against South Africa and had to pull out of the IPL. Given that Starc has had a history of breakdowns, was it prudent for KKR to go all-out for him? It was a gamble that would have looked fantastic had it come off, but sadly, it didn’t, but KKR were clever enough to have back-up in the form of Mitchell Johnson, one of the finest fast bowlers that the game has seen in recent times. To get someone of the calibre of Johnson for a relatively measly Rs 2 crore was a great scalp by Mysore and his team, and in Starc’s absence he looks to be playing the lead pacer’s role this year. Make no mistake, the fiery Aussie may have retired from international cricket, but can still be a handful in the four overs he would have to bowl every innings. R Vinay Kumar and Javon Searles would be part of the pace-bowling support cast.

Another concern is that KKR’s batting looks a bit thin, more so after the exit of the dependable Manish Pandey. Yes, Karthik and Uthappa would be the two pillars in the batting order, but the Kolkata franchise seem to be too reliant on the power-hitting of Lynn and Russell, and the youngsters Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana. One can rest assured that if Lynn fires, the opposition would be dead and buried in a haste, but the big Australian has a notorious habit of being injury-prone. One remembers he had missed quite a few matches after a blistering start in the IPL last year, having hurt himself while fielding. He had injured himself twice this year already which had caused him to miss a number of matches and it was not sure until a few days back if he would be able to play in the league this year. However, according to recent reports, he has been batting in full flow at the nets, also having trained in Australia with a specially-designed shoulder stabiliser given by rugby star Johnathan Thurston, which would be music to the KKR ears. Rana had a superb run for the Mumbai Indians last year, scoring 333 runs at a strike rate of a bit over 126, taking his team over the line on numerous occasions before fizzling out towards the end. He will want to do even better for his new franchise. Gill, who is regarded as the next big batting star of India, impressed all and sundry with his century in the U-19 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan earlier this year, and he was a smart buy for KKR as well. One feels the Purple Brigade had gambled with Lynn and Russell too. The Windies all-rounder had missed the last edition following a doping ban and was doubtful this year after pulling his hamstring during the Pakistan Super League (PSL). But he has regained fitness after training under legendary sprinter Usain Bolt’s physio. Thankfully, for KKR, both the gambles on Lynn and Russell seem to be paying off. Moreover, they have got hold of a quality replacement for Starc in the form of England’s Tom Curran , who can be more than useful at the death, and is a more than capable batsman. A concern is also that batsmen the world over have started to decipher their ‘mystery’ tweakers Narine and Kuldeep. A bigger concern is that Narine’s bowling action was reported during the PSL, but there should be no problems with him turning out for KKR, given that he was not hauled up for a second time in the PSL, nor has the Cricket West Indies (CWI) declared his action illegal. So in the final analysis, this young KKR is perhaps not the strongest side in the competition, but has enough wherewithal to still go all the way. It is not always that the strongest team wins the title, you only need players who can rise to the occasion and fulfil their roles to a T, and the good thing about this KKR team is that they have matched players to roles extremely well. Squad: Dinesh Karthik (C), Robin Uthappa (VC), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Tom Curran, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, R Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Vijay Wankhade, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi.