Former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan was left baffled by the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana’s strategy to underutilize their star pacer Lockie Ferguson, who has not bowled with the new ball against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Former Kolkata Knight Riders player Yusuf Pathan questioned the team management and Nitish Rana about the team selection and utilization of New Zealander pacer Lockie Ferguson, who was traded from Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2023.
“I was surprised as to why did he select Ferguson in the playing XI. If you are not going to give him the new ball, then why is he playing? He is now bowling that well, so maybe change him for someone else because his pace bowling attack is coming across as very weak,” Yusuf Pathan said.
Yusuf Pathan pointed out the poor show of Kolkata Knight Riders pacers; Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Andre Russell, and Umesh Yadav as they collectively conceded 80 runs from 6.4 overs against Mumbai Indians–and could not pick wickets in the powerplay overs for the two-time champions.
Venkatesh Iyer was the lone bright spot for Kolkata Knight Riders as he single-handedly took KKR to 185/6 in 20 overs, with a knock of 104 runs in 51 balls, but it was not enough for their team, as Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav played brilliantly well to help Mumbai Indians register their second win in the league stage.
They Should Also Check For Other Options – Yusuf Pathan On Underperforming KKR Pacers
Yusuf Pathan feels that Kolkata Knight Riders pacers need to step up on the big occasion for their team and asserted that Umesh Yadav was brilliant for the team in IPL 2022, who gave them an initial breakthrough in last season but failed to make an impact for the team this season. He added that other pacers in the team should combine well to perform for the team.
“Shardul Thakur, Ferguson, and Umesh Yadav are there. Last season, Umesh was brilliant and showed good form. But he needs a wicket-taking partner so that the entire pressure doesn’t fall on him. If there is so much pressure on a fast bowler, then maybe even he won’t be able to perform well. The other two pacers need to perform better. They should also check for other options,” he further added.
Kolkata Knight Riders will look to make a comeback against underperforming Delhi Capitals on April 20 in Arun Jaitley Stadium.