KKR do not have a big star, but the younger players are more than making up for it, says Sunil Gavaskar

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Sunil Gavaskar has stated that despite the loss of players like Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey, and Yusuf Pathan, the young guns in the Dinesh Karthik-led side have taken it on their shoulders to do well. Gavaskar has also added that CSK’s return to the Chidambaram stadium would be a special moment.

Kolkata Knight Riders began every IPL season as one of the favorites to lift the prestigious trophy with the reliable Gautam Gambhir at the helm of affairs. The left-handed opener guided the Knights to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. However, Gambhir chose to return to his home team - Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2018 season which left the KKR dugout short of a big name and a trusted leader.

But former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for TOI, mentioned that how the young guns in the KKR dugout have stepped up in the absence of a star player amongst their ranks. The performance of the likes of MOM Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav in their first win against Royal Challengers Bangalore was one of the positives on Sunday. 

"Kolkata does not have a big star in their ranks but the younger players are more than making up for it with their energy and enthusiasm. Karthik may have got the final over wrong against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, or more likely, Vinay Kumar got his line wrong. It's never easy to keep wickets as well as captain the team for the thought," wrote Gavaskar.

Kolkata have also roped in a few of the U-19 stars in the form of pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shubman Gill, and Shivam Mavi with one eye on the future. These youngsters will serve as back-ups for the senior players over the course of the tournament.

The Super Kings will face off against KKR in today’s match of the day, but what made the encounter even more special was that this will be the first time that CSK will play at the MA Chidambaram stadium after a gap of more than 2 years. Gavaskar added that this would add to the entire buzz that surrounded the match.

"It will be a huge moment for the Chennai Super Kings fans who will get to see their beloved team in action after two years, and you can be sure the M A Chidambaram stadium will be packed to the rafters and there won't be much else apart from yellow seen at the ground.

"The Kolkata Knight Riders guys know the feeling, as the Eden Gardens, for their opening game, was also full of the KKR jerseys though there was a fair section cheering for Virat Kohli rather than the Royal Challengers Bangalore," Gavaskar added.

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