Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh feels it is important for Kolkata Knight Riders management to back their players and has questioned the two-time champions for frequent changes in the playing 11. KKR suffered their fourth consecutive defeat against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
The Knight Riders lost to the four-time champions by 49 runs after failing to chase down 236 at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium. Ahead of the season, KKR suffered a huge blow by losing out their skipper Shreyas Iyer due to a back injury and that has affected the team big time.
Speaking on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh said that it is important to give belief to their players and stick to the plans rather than moving away from the plans and also wants the team to plan better based on the opponents and conditions.
“You have to give some belief. You need to go with a plan, that this is your plan for this season and the intent with which you will play your cricket. Of course, you have to make your game plan while respecting the opposition and keeping the conditions in mind,” Harbhajan Singh said.
To Many experts’ surprise, Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur was benched for the last couple of games and he was the player of the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first home in IPL 2023. Harbhajan Singh was baffled by KKR management’s decision to drop and feels constant changes in every match will not work out for the team.
“You stick to your game plan for just one match and you see something else happening in the next match, some more changes happening, Shardul Thakur was not playing in this team. So it is beyond my understanding. It will not work out if you make changes in every match.”
Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers found no clue to the CSK batter all the bowlers were taken to cleaners on Sunday, and Nitish Rana-led side is now in danger of going to the bottom of the points table with two wins from their seven games in the league stage.
You Need To Back Your Players- Harbhajan Singh’s Crucial Advice To KKR
Harbhajan Singh believes it essential for KKR to back their players, as they are constantly changing in the team which would affect the confidence of the players, as they would be under immense pressure to perform for the team and feels the players need some sort of comfort playing for the team.
“You have to back your players so that they feel that it is their team and that they will get chances to perform. They shouldn’t be worried that if they get out, they might not get a chance in the next match. You need to give that comfort,” Harbhajan Singh added.
Nitish Rana-led Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 26, in the famous Chinnaswamy stadium. RCB will come into the contest after the back-to-back win against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals and it would be a difficult task for KKR to win against RCB.