- Morne & Pat join Knights' practice
With barely three days to go before Kolkata Knight Riders begin their campaign, against a strong Mumbai Indians side on Wednesday at Eden Gardens, the two-time champions are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for IPL VIII.
Bowling has been the Knight Riders' forte and the second day of their training saw Morne Morkel and young Aussie Pat Cummins sweating it out. The duo's focus on their first day at practice, though, was mainly on warm-up exercises and playing a bit of football.
Whether Cummins will be a regular part of the Knights' playing XI is not certain as Umesh Yadav, who impressed in the World Cup, is also there. But Morkel, without doubt, will play a pivotal role, as the Knight Riders get ready to defend their title.
Yes, the Eden wicket will help the spinners, but the awkward bounce that the lanky South African can generate irrespective of the nature of the pitch can prove critical for his team.
Having taken 12 wickets from as many matches last season, Morkel may not have had an outstanding season for Knight Riders. But some of the deliveries he came up with and the wickets he took were during crucial junctures, giving them the much-needed momentum.
Apart from Morkel and Cummins, Johan Botha, veteran Brad Hogg and Ryan ten Doeschate also joined practice on Saturday. Along with Umesh, the explosive Andre Russell is also slated to arrive on Sunday.
Sunil Narine, meanwhile, continued to remain absent from the practice session. The Knight Riders management, however, refused to accept that the Windies off-spinner is keeping himself away from training because the report of his fresh tests, conducted at the Shri Ramachandra University in Chennai, are yet to come. But at the same time, they can't even confirm when Narine is expected to resume practice.
"These are not compulsory practice sessions. It's not that you must attend them," a KKR spokesman said. "It's up to coach Trevor Bayliss to decide when Narine can start (practising)."
Although sources said the report is yet to be submitted to the BCCI, Knight Riders are hopeful of something positive happening. "The report should be out within a day. We expect a positive report," said a top KKR official.
No matter what Narine's fate turns out to be, the addition of Botha and Hogg will certainly strengthen the Knights' spin attack, which also consists Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav and the uncapped KC Cariappa.
Coming in place of Chris Lynn, Botha made it clear that he won't be happy to just spin the ball, but take wickets and restrict the opposition's flow of runs. Scoring runs is also an equally important job and to cement one's place in the side, one has to contribute in all departments, Botha emphasised.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the training session, the off-spinner said: "It's not just about being a spinner or a fast bowler. The importance of a bowler's ability to bat is massive in the game. If you can add valuable runs coming in at numbers six, seven or eight, it might turn out to be a significant factor.
"It doesn't really matter if the wicket is conducive to spin or not, you should be able to contribute with the bat. Considering the standards nowadays, you can't just sit pretty and be a bowler.
"The ability to bat, bowl and field as well goes on to make you a real asset to your side. I think that's how you should be looking at it," he said.
The South African may not have been outstanding in the Big Bash League for Adelaide Strikers, but in matches against Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades, he hit an unbeaten 41 and 32, respectively, batting at No. 6. The Adelaide Strikers went on to win both the games.
Botha believes the Eden pitch will suit his style of bowling. "Obviously, it will suit me. I believe this pitch will be of good help as far as the spinners are concerned.
"The KKR line-up over the last three years gives us an idea regarding how the Eden pitch has been.
"As the tournament progresses, we do come across some more grounds that assist spinners more than what is expected. The wicket in Chennai offers help to spinners to a fair extent, as their (Chennai Super Kings) line-up too gives such an impression."
Bowling has been the Knight Riders' forte and the second day of their training saw Morne Morkel and young Aussie Pat Cummins sweating it out. The duo's focus on their first day at practice, though, was mainly on warm-up exercises and playing a bit of football.
Whether Cummins will be a regular part of the Knights' playing XI is not certain as Umesh Yadav, who impressed in the World Cup, is also there. But Morkel, without doubt, will play a pivotal role, as the Knight Riders get ready to defend their title.
Yes, the Eden wicket will help the spinners, but the awkward bounce that the lanky South African can generate irrespective of the nature of the pitch can prove critical for his team.
Having taken 12 wickets from as many matches last season, Morkel may not have had an outstanding season for Knight Riders. But some of the deliveries he came up with and the wickets he took were during crucial junctures, giving them the much-needed momentum.
Apart from Morkel and Cummins, Johan Botha, veteran Brad Hogg and Ryan ten Doeschate also joined practice on Saturday. Along with Umesh, the explosive Andre Russell is also slated to arrive on Sunday.
Sunil Narine, meanwhile, continued to remain absent from the practice session. The Knight Riders management, however, refused to accept that the Windies off-spinner is keeping himself away from training because the report of his fresh tests, conducted at the Shri Ramachandra University in Chennai, are yet to come. But at the same time, they can't even confirm when Narine is expected to resume practice.
"These are not compulsory practice sessions. It's not that you must attend them," a KKR spokesman said. "It's up to coach Trevor Bayliss to decide when Narine can start (practising)."
Although sources said the report is yet to be submitted to the BCCI, Knight Riders are hopeful of something positive happening. "The report should be out within a day. We expect a positive report," said a top KKR official.
No matter what Narine's fate turns out to be, the addition of Botha and Hogg will certainly strengthen the Knights' spin attack, which also consists Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav and the uncapped KC Cariappa.
Coming in place of Chris Lynn, Botha made it clear that he won't be happy to just spin the ball, but take wickets and restrict the opposition's flow of runs. Scoring runs is also an equally important job and to cement one's place in the side, one has to contribute in all departments, Botha emphasised.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the training session, the off-spinner said: "It's not just about being a spinner or a fast bowler. The importance of a bowler's ability to bat is massive in the game. If you can add valuable runs coming in at numbers six, seven or eight, it might turn out to be a significant factor.
"It doesn't really matter if the wicket is conducive to spin or not, you should be able to contribute with the bat. Considering the standards nowadays, you can't just sit pretty and be a bowler.
"The ability to bat, bowl and field as well goes on to make you a real asset to your side. I think that's how you should be looking at it," he said.
The South African may not have been outstanding in the Big Bash League for Adelaide Strikers, but in matches against Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades, he hit an unbeaten 41 and 32, respectively, batting at No. 6. The Adelaide Strikers went on to win both the games.
Botha believes the Eden pitch will suit his style of bowling. "Obviously, it will suit me. I believe this pitch will be of good help as far as the spinners are concerned.
"The KKR line-up over the last three years gives us an idea regarding how the Eden pitch has been.
"As the tournament progresses, we do come across some more grounds that assist spinners more than what is expected. The wicket in Chennai offers help to spinners to a fair extent, as their (Chennai Super Kings) line-up too gives such an impression."