'Dear Flem, Sorry to disappoint' - KKR brutally troll CSK after retaining Tim Seifert for IPL 2021

All the eight IPL franchises have started the preparations for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With this, the healthy banter between the franchises have also begun as no one is leaving any chance to take friendly jibes against each other on social media. On January 20, the teams had submitted a list to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) where they had revealed the number of players they have retained and released for IPL 2021. 

The two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were expected to make some huge changes in their squad. However, they decided to take another leap of faith in the players as they retained their core group and just released the extra baggage including Tom Banton, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, right-hander Siddhesh lad, and left-arm spinner Manimaran Siddharth.

The Knight Riders have also retained the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert, who was roped in as a replacement for injured Ali Khan but didn’t feature in a single game for KKR in IPL 2020 as the former captain Dinesh Karthik was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the franchise in all the games. 

Stephen Fleming had heaped praises on Tim Seifert

Meanwhile, as KKR retained Tim Seifert, they took this as a chance to troll the three-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) via their official Instagram handle. CSK’s head coach Stephen Fleming was highly impressed with the New Zealand wicketkeeper’s performance in the T20I series against Pakistan and had made an indirect offer to him to join the Yellow Army. 

“There’s a team in yellow that might have a look at you (Seifert) as well. Not just Brendon McCullum’s team, there are other teams out there,” Fleming had said.

In the T20I series against Pakistan, Seifert amassed 176 runs at an average and strike-rate of 88 and 139.68 respectively. His top score of an unbeaten 84 had come at the Seddon Park in Hamilton where he helped the Black Caps chase down 164 with four balls to spare.

Taking it to their official Instagram handle, Kolkata Knight Riders posted a meme where they shared the statement made by Stephen Fleming on Tim Seifert along with a message from KKR’s coach Brendon McCullum which read, “Dear Flem, Sorry to disappoint. We are keeping him. #IPLretention”