Indians dug deep and showed why they were the No. 1 test team: Simon Katich

KKR coach heaps praises on Umesh and Kuldeep

unnamed
Gautam Gambhir joined KKR practice on Tuesday. Image Source: XtraTime

Kolkata: Knight Riders Assistant Coach Simon Katich feels, India deservedly won the test series against Australia. The Australian at the same time gave a lot of credit to Steve Smith and his team for the fight back in the series. Speaking to the reporters in Kolkata, Katich said, “I must admit it was a fantastic cricket series. The Australia players played some fantastic cricket during the series. For a young team to put up a tough fight like they did was incredible. But unfortunately they fell on the final hurdle.”

The former Australian cricketer also added, “India deserved a lot of credit for fighting back after they were handsomely beaten in Pune. They dug deep and showed why they are the number one team in the world at the moment. Regardless of what happened different times, I thought it was a fantastic series. Sometimes that happens in Test cricket, emotions get players do get carried away with the spirit of the moment stuff.”

The Knight Riders coach joined the practice session on Tuesday at Eden Gardens. Katich also heaped loads of praises on Umesh and Kuldeep. Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav will be coming back after a great series winning effort. Umesh has been a revelation with the new ball as well with the older one. While Kuldeep has impressed everyone with his chinaman bowling.

On being asked about them, Katich said, “They both have big roles to play no doubt about that. Umesh is bowling a lot quick at the moment. He bowled beautifully with new ball in the series. He will play a crucial role in our campaign.”

Commenting on the absence of West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell, the Knight Riders coach commented, “It is certainly a huge shoes’ to fill. He bowled up front and took a lot of wickets in power-play, not to forget his bowling at death overs. He generated so much power with the bat at the back end of the innings.”

“We have identified a number of players. Woakes is in good form for England. He is a different style of player to Russell. He’s a genuine wicket-taking bowler up front. He will have a big role to play with the new ball. His contributions will be crucial. He is also a capable batsman.”

“We also have Chris Lynn. There are also other guys who can cover up his absence.”

Captain Gautam Gambhir joined the KKR camp with Katich. All rounders Chris Woakes and Shakib al Hasan will be joining the squad next week. New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, who is not playing against South Africa in the ensuing test series is supposed to join the squad early next week.

“He (Boult) haven’t played the last couple of tests. He told he should be right before he joins us early next week. He is currently undergoing his rehab,” said Katich about Boult.

KKR meanwhile practiced under lights for almost three hours. Skipper Gautam Gambhir was seen batting in the nets for long on his first day here, and later was involved in a long conversation with Katich.

Quizzed if he felt, the India opener looked rusty, Katich said, “Not rusty. Players need to adapt to different formats. It’s not so much about the technique but the mindset. So that’s something we have spoken about.”

The Knights will be playing a number of practice matches this week in the build up to the IPL.