Former India cricketer BRUTAL remark on KKR after GT defeat, slams Ajinkya Rahane’s tactics
Kaif slams Rahane after KKR’s loss to GT
Former KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir use to follow the traditional strategy of keeping a left-right batting combination. He applied this approach frequently in India’s white-ball matches after taking over as head coach and reintroduced it at Kolkata Knight Riders during his return as mentor in last year’s IPL.
Although Gambhir stepped down as the mentor after a successful stint in May, KKR continued with the strategy for IPL 2025. However, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes the tactic hasn’t worked for them this season.
Mohammad Kaif questioned skipper Ajinkya Rahane and KKR mangement about the left-right batting combination in the ongoing IPL, in a video posted by him on social media.
Rinku Singh, a left-hander and one of KKR’s top finishers last season, came into bat at No. 8 against the Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Mohammad Kaif also called on the Ajinkya Rahane-led team to clearly define their key player and clarify the roles to their batters.
“There is an old saying that lefty-right has to be at the crease. Today, KKR tried to maintain that, and in the process, their main player was not sent up the order. But you must first decide who your main player is in this KKR team. Is it Rinku or Russell or Iyer or Moeen Ali? Who is it, and what are the roles? And because of this left-right thing, any batter is coming in at any batting position.” Kaif said
“Rinku was batting at No. 8 against Lucknow, all because of the left-right thing for which he was sent so late, although KKR lost the match by just four runs. But he barely got any deliveries to face. But this thing is not working for KKR,” he added
He also asked the KKR skipper to bring in big hitter early as both Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer are struggling the middle overs. Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer managed to score only 41 runs for the 3rd- wicket stand, later both got dismissed.
“I feel, in case of big chases, they should just send their big hitters early and tell them to play their natural game. They might get all out for a low score even, but they played so slowly yesterday in the middle overs during the partnership between Iyer and Rahane, and Narine struggled to score.” Kaif siad
“Also, I feel that KKR should have stuck with De Kock, who won the Player of the Match award against the Rajasthan Royals. Again, why was De Kock dropped? Because they wanted a right-handed batter.” He added
“Lefty-righty ke chakkar mein naiya dub gayi KKR ki (Their left-right plan fell apart). This is not the first time. They did it against Lucknow, and now they lost badly against Gujarat,” he concluded
Kolkata Knight Riders will face Punjab Kings on Saturday, April 26 at the Eden Gardens.