Internet Desk: Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Simon Katich sees nothing wrong in MS Dhoni under using Ravi Chandran Ashwin during the ongoing Indian Premier League. According to Katich, “Obviously, Dhoni has his reasons. He’s a highly experienced and successful captain. And, that’s the hard thing about this format from the captain’s point of view,”
Ashwin has not bowled his full quota of four overs in last 10 Twenty Twenty games that included five games for Rising Pune Supergiants in the ongoing IPL. Talking to the reporters from the sideline of KKR’s practice session at the Eden Gardens, Katich said, “There are certain moments of the game where you have to go one way or the other. If it goes per plan, the captain looks like a genius. But if it does not his tactics get questioned. It’s not easy. I think whether it’s based on form, the gut feel or the actual conditions, there’s obviously a reason. MS went on that path without doubt for a reason.”
The Knight Riders , who find themselves slipped to third place after their loss to Gujarat Lions have to win a minimum two matches from their remaining four matches so as to make the playoff and Katich said they’re not taking it easy as they had lost out on a last-four berth narrowly in 2015.
“It’s been a mixed tournament of ups and downs for a lot of teams. Gujarat Lions got off to a flying start and went on to lose three matches on the trot, certainly a number of other teams, have also struggled. We lost our last game but have a couple of successive home games now. We are hopeful to turn it around and take some positive momentum into a possible playoff campaign. There’s still a lot of work to go. We don’t assume that it’s given after what happened last year. We want to make sure that we don’t leave the job till the last game. I think it’s going to be a tight tournament as we see the points table at the moment. The next four games are vital to make sure we finish in a good position.”
The Eden wicket is not assisting the spinners as it used to be earlier but Katich refused to complain and backed his spinners. According to Katich, “Certainly, it has not spun square on this wicket. But it’s been a good cricket wicket; especially the quickies have got swing. The batsmen have all enjoyed batting on it, can’t complain about the wicket.”
Regarding expectation from his team’s spinners, he said: “I don’t think we’re concerned how our spinners have performed, different times all have played vital roles.”
Katich further said the fourth wicket on which the Kings XI Punjab match was held would be used for Saturday’s game.
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders cricketers went for a river cruise on the Ganges after their practice session on Thursday. The cricketers took the Vivada cruise accompanied by their wives and friends. The KKR cricketers went on partying till midnight. It was an unique experience for Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir, who has been associated with the franchise for the last five years . According to Gambhir, “This was the first time I had an opportunity to see the Ganges closely. It was an wonderful experience for me.”
Wasim Akram, who has been coming down to Kolkata from his cricketing days said, ” I have been coming to Kolkata since a long time. It was a fascinating experience for me.”