Abhishek Nayar, the assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, feels the addition of superstars Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins will add depth to the team as it prepares for the forthcoming IPL 2020 season starting Saturday.
World Cup 2019 winning captain Eoin Morgan was purchased by KKR at the IPL 2020 auction last December for Rs 5.25 crore while Australia’s Test vice-captain Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy this season by getting acquired for Rs 15.5 crore. He is also the most expensive overseas player in IPL history.
Abhishek Nayar: KKR Management Acquired Pat Cummins And Eoin Morgan For Adding Value And Having Leadership Qualities
Both have previously played for KKR –Pat Cummins in 2014 and 2015 and Eoin Morgan from 2011 to 2013 – but have since then transformed themselves into excellent match-winning players. Abhishek Nayar believes both bring a lot to the table in terms of experience and leadership abilities.
“One of the things we were looking for the team was leadership quality in the group. Brendon and Dinesh were very upfront about it. We thought Morgan and Cummins could add a lot of value. One is a World Cup winner and the other is the No. 1 Test bowler and vice-captain of Australia. This is what we needed. Hopefully, we will have a great season,” Nayar told Sportstar.
After Alastair Cook was removed from the ODI captaincy on 19 December 2014, Morgan was named as the England captain for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, having already captained England in ODIs and T20Is as a stand-in. Under his captaincy, England won the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the first time they had won the tournament. Eoin Morgan had also represented Ireland from 2006 to 2009 before moving to England.
Abhishek Nayar Expects Kamlesh Nagarkoti To Be Match Fit After Missing Last 2 Seasons Due To Injury
Besides the pool of KKR’s overseas pool of players, Abhishek Nayar emphasized on the domestic crop of players, saying he has high expectations from a fit again Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
One of the stars of India’s victorious 2018 Under-19 World Cup campaign, Kamlesh Nagarkoti has missed the previous two editions of the IPL (2018 and 2019)due to injury, but this time around, Abhishek Nayar hopes the 20-year-old can manage to keep his fitness intact this year. He is expected to reverse fortunes in 2018 and 2019 and pick up wickets if he features in the starting XI.
“All the kids are good within the aspect. Kamlesh, Shivam (Mavi) and all of the boys know the way in particular they’re and what they will do. I believe it’s nice that Kamlesh is match fit and hopefully he’ll stay match fit for the IPL. Personally, I might be very pleased to see the child lastly getting to play after two years. These are thrilling occasions forward,” Nayar said.
Shivam Mavi has however played 9 matches and picked up 5 wickets in 2018. KKR will look to win their third IPL trophy when the tournament kicks off from September 19th. KKR won two IPL trophies under Gautam Gambhir in 2012 and 2014. KKR has several promising pace bowlers in the ranks of Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti all of whom are raring to go and fight for a place in the starting line-up.