Something is happening in the KKR camp which is not right: Brian Lara

The two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are running low on confidence after getting thumped by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) by 82 runs and eight wickets respectively. The team management have been making amends in their strategies and playing XI but nothing seems to be working for them.

They recently had a change of leadership too as England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan was named the skipper of the side to replace Dinesh Karthik. But the move didn’t bear fruitful results for the squad as they had a below-par performance both with the ball and bat against the defending champions on Friday (October 16).

West Indies great Brian Lara isn’t very happy with the change in captaincy as he believes that leadership was never a problem for the franchise. He also raised questions over the absence of West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine from playing XI. Showering praises on the Trinidadian-born, Lara exclaimed that Sunil is a vital cog in KKR’s success as he has won them a couple of matches in the past.

The team management has sidelined Narine from the matches after he was issued a warning due to his bowling action. It is speculated that the all-rounder can be ruled out as a bowler for the whole tournament if he gets another warning. Moreover, he is likely to play against SRH on Sunday as his action has been cleared.

“Captaincy was never a problem for KKR. Sunil Narine won them a couple of matches with his bowling while defending a total so he needs to get that (his action) sorted out,” Lara said on Star Sports.

Andre Russell needs to get runs, says Brian Lara

Reflecting on the disappointing performance by the explosive all-rounder Andre Russell, Brian Lara reckoned that the former needs to regain his form and score runs for his team if they want to go ahead in the tournament. Lara also stressed that something isn’t going right in the camp as they are continuously losing the games.

“Andre Russell needs to get runs, anybody can captain a team. I think they have put more pressure on themselves now, the camera is on them, they’ve had a change of captain, something is happening in the camp which is not right. That’s just the worst defeat for KKR that I’ve seen,” Lara added.

With four wins in eight outings, the Knight Riders are sitting at the fourth position in the points tally. They will be meeting Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an afternoon clash on Sunday and will have to win the game to move forward towards securing a place in the playoffs.