Brad Hogg, the former KKR and Australian leg spinner pointed out one flaw in KKR’s franchise ahead of IPL 2020. The previous edition of the Indian Premier League saw things heated up at KKR camp after an in-form Andre Russell, during a press conference, questioned the decision-making of the team management to send him to lower down the batting order.
In an interview on the RK Show couple of months ago, Dinesh Karthik had opened up on the incident, that he looked at it constructively, and discussed things out with Andre Russell after the episode and the two fixed things between themselves.
Brad Hogg For KKR
Brad Hogg Says Head Coach Brendon McCullum Must Ensure Tensions Do Not Escalate Any Further Between Andre Russell and Skipper Dinesh Karthik
But former KKR spinner Brad Hogg brought up the incident again and was of the opinion that the tensions between the two players remain one major flaw in the team going into IPL 2020 which kicks off from September 19th in the UAE. He said there is only one flaw in KKR and the sour relationship has to be fixed up before IPL starts.
Speaking in the latest episode of ‘Hogg’s Vlog’ on his official You-tube channel, Hogg said: “What is the one flaw in this team? There is only one – the relationship between Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik.”
Brendon McCullum. Image Credit: BCCI/IPL.
Brad Hogg added that head coach Brendon McCullum has to ensure that the tensions between the two players do not escalate any further.
“Brendon McCullum has to make sure he rectifies that relationship, gets on top of it early, because, if there is a little bit of disharmony in this line-up, it can have a ripple effect in a bio-secure environment, and things can get out of hand very quickly,” Hogg said.
Brendon McCullum who struck a century in the very first IPL match ever in 2008 while playing for KKR will be the head coach. He had previously captained KKR as well but did not get much success.
Brad Hogg Predicts KKR Will Finish 3rd And Praises Andre Russell and Sunil Narine For All Round Abilities
Brad Hogg further said that the KKR team has specialist players in every department which can help them in the tournament this year.
KKR have good pacers like Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna besides Pat Cummins, and Lockie Ferguson.
Sunil Narine. Image Credit: Getty Images.
They have quality spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine but their batting line-up looks strongest on paper with Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, and the skipper Dinesh Karthik himself.
“They have got specialists players in each role. They have also got Sunil Narine in there. Yes, we know he can bowl a little bit of off-spin, but it’s his batting, versatility, that adds potency in this line-up. Because, he can open the batting, bat in the middle overs, also play some big shots at the end to finish off the innings. Also, they have got Andre Russell, who can bowl a little bit of medium pace. But that batting at the end is pure firepower.” he said.
Sunil Narine had scored 771 runs, the majority of which came when he opened the batting in 2017. He is also KKR’s leading wicket-taker ever in IPL with 122 wickets averaging a meager 23.31. Andre Russell has scored 1400 runs and taken 55 wickets in 64 matches. His strike rate of 186.41 is phenomenal, to say the least.
“The standout player of the team is going to be Tom Banton from England. He is going to be the top three best batsmen in the IPL this year. I think, Kolkata Knight Riders will finish third. They may take out the IPL title during the final series,” Hogg signed off.
Tom Banton of Englandwill look to take place of Chris Lynn who also was a destructive opening batsman.
