Quinton de Kock Available For Mumbai Indians’ 2nd Game Against KKR, Says Zaheer Khan
Apr 12, 2021 at 4:54 PM
Zaheer Khan, Mumbai Indians’ Director of Cricket Operations, informed that Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock had completed his quarantine as per requisite norms and is available for selection on the eve of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) got off to a familiar start in a new Indian Premier League (IPL) season as Rohit Sharma and his men lost their opening match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 2 wickets.
Zaheer Khan Confirms Quinton De Kock Is Available For Selection In KKR Match
Australian batsman Chris Lynn made his debut for MI as Quinton de Kock – who has been the team’s regular opener, was in quarantine after returning from the recently concluded ODI series between South Africa and Pakistan.
Ahead of MI’s next match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), MI’s Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan informed said that Quinton de Kock had completed his quarantine and also had a net session on Sunday.
“De Kock has completed his quarantine and also had a net session yesterday. He is available for selection for tomorrow’s match,” Zaheer Khan said during a virtual press conference.
Playing his first game for MI, Chris Lynn once again showed why is he one of the most dangerous batsmen in the shorter formats as he hammered 49 runs. Chris Lynn was the top scorer for Mumbai scoring 49 off 35 balls including 4 fours and 3 sixes but it went in vain as RCB won by 2 wickets.
The explosive opening batsman Chris Lynn joined the defending champions in the 2020 season but didn’t play a single match in IPL 2020 as Quinton De Kock, Ishan Kishan, and Rohit Sharma were preferred instead.
Zaheer Khan has played for the Royal Challengers as well as Mumbai Indians before he was picked for the Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 auction. He has captained the Daredevils in 2016 and 2017. In the 2017 season, Zaheer Khan became the 10th bowler in history and 8th Indian bowler, to pick 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League.
Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan has joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) as the Director of Cricket Operations in December 2018.
Chris Lynn Jokingly Admits That His 1st Match For Mumbai Can Be His Last For Running Out Skipper Rohit Sharma And Quinton De Kock’s Availability
After the match, Chris Lynn, who ran out skipper Rohit Sharma, jokingly admitted to the fact that his first match for the defending champions could turn out to be his last in IPL 2021.
“Look, obviously I was a bit nervous, no doubt about it. (It was my) first game for Mumbai, and it was the first time I was batting with Rohit as well. It happens in the game of cricket as well.
“I thought there was a run, and then obviously there wasn’t a run. But yeah, if I had been able to run past him and sacrifice my wicket, I definitely would have done that, but it wasn’t the case.”
“As I said, it happens, but yeah, I put just a little bit more pressure on myself. It’s not ideal, running out your captain in the first game. The first game could be my last, who knows? (laughs). But anyhow, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, happens in the game.
“It would have been nice (if the runout didn’t happen); he was striking the ball nicely, and we were 10 or 15 runs short in the end. He would have definitely made a difference, but there were plenty of factors in this game tonight, not just the run-out,” Chris Lynn said in the post-match press conference.
Quinton De Kock, on the other hand, has been instrumental in Mumbai’s success in the last two seasons where he has amassed over 500 runs in two successive seasons in 2019 and 2020.