IPL 2020 | Grateful to KKR management for backing players through thick and thin, states Dinesh Karthik

KKR’s journey in the Indian Premier League, at least post-2010, has been built around one characteristic and one characteristic only - trust. First, they vehemently backed Gautam Gambhir as the face of the franchise, then stuck by Sunil Narine after the ICC banned him for chucking, after which they retained Andre Russell despite the all-rounder getting banned for doping. In one such move of pure trust, the franchise, after two years, finally witnessed young speedster Kamlesh Nagarkoti, whose career has been marred by injuries for two years, debut for them. 

KKR registered their first win of the season after a fine performance with the ball, and it was enabled by no less than 7 bowlers, who all played their part in restricting SRH. DK claimed that he was ‘privileged’ to have so many all-rounders at his disposal and also expressed his satisfaction over how the younger players have performed. 

After missing out in the first match, Shubman Gill made sure to capitalize on the second, and his unbeaten 70 helped KKR dismantle a listless SRH side. Karthik said that he was pleased with the way the youngster bounced back today. Furthermore, the KKR skipper also revealed that coach McCullum wanting the side’s best players batting higher up the order was the reason for his own promotion. The 35-year-old scored a duck today but claimed that he will settle once he gets some runs under his belt. 

“I want to make sure Gill is having an easy journey with no pressure. I think McCullum is very clear that the best batters bat at the top of the order, I just need to get some runs.”