Despite a lackluster T20 World Cup campaign, former South African captain Faf du Plessis has stated that Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy would be essential for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL starting on March 28.
Du Plessis told “JioHotStar” that the Eden Gardens pitch ought to be customized for Sunil Narine and Chakaravarthy.
“If I was part of the KKR team management, I would ask the groundsman at Eden Gardens to make the wicket spin-friendly. KKR are blessed to have two absolute cannons in Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine,” he said.
“They are two of the best T20 spinners in the game right now. Both, Varun and Narine, have to be in the game. If they play on surfaces where they are not in contention, then you are losing those two cannons and your superpower. Yes, they can bowl well on any wicket and trouble batters. But for KKR to be successful this IPL, Varun and Narine need to fire. The pitch should be prepared keeping those two players in mind,” he added.
During India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, Chakravarthy was not very effective, taking 14 wickets at an economy rate of more than 9. After winning just five of their 14 games previous season, KKR finished third from bottom on the points table.
On March 29, the team led by Ajinkya Rahane, will play the Mumbai Indians in an away game to start their campaign.
Although he cautioned that the Australian all-rounder would be under great price tag pressure given his Rs 25.2 crore deal, Du Plessis stated that Cameron Green is another player who might prove vital for the team.
“Cameron Green is a highly talented guy who has a lot of potential in him to succeed. He is the multi-skilled marquee buy for KKR and the replacement for Andre Russell. Green is six-foot tall, a massive guy, he bowls well, has a good bouncer and yorker, can hit the ball out of the stadium easily and is a proper batter. In short, he is a complete package. He balances KKR’s team very well,” he said.
“But form has not been on his side recently. With a price tag of Rs 25.2 crore, there is big price tag pressure he will carry. There is a lot of weight on his shoulders,” he observed.
Rahane was advised to bat at the top by former Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji.
“I always feel that KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane should bat in the top order. He shouldn’t bat at anything less than number three. He has done phenomenally well with CSK at number three and scored a lot of runs.
“So, he batting one down would be good for both, him and KKR. Cameron Green can come out to bat at number four. That will give him time to settle down and then start going after the bowlers. So, a top four of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Ajinkya Rahane and Cameron Green is going to be the go-to one,” he suggested.
