Legendary Anil Kumble reckons Rajasthan Royals’ decision to not retain Jos Buttler and Kolkata Knight Riders’ improper utilisation of Andre Russell are factors that have contributed significantly to the struggles of the former IPL winners thus far. Having played eight matches each so far, the defending champions KKR have lost five while the Royals have endured defeats in six. In a select media interaction on Wednesday, JioStar expert Kumble said, “Jos Buttler is someone who sort of was the key player for Rajasthan Royals for a while. He was instrumental in single-handedly doing damage to the opposition.”
“So I was a bit surprised that RR didn’t retain him. I felt that both the games that they lost (previous two against DC and LSG), they had it in hand, which they shouldn’t have lost.
“Missing Sanju Samson (to an injury) is a big thing. He’s a key player for Rajasthan Royals,” said Kumble, referring to RR captain who missed the last game and will not play against RCB due to an abdominal injury.
Talking about KKR, Kumble felt Russell should bat higher up the order. “I felt that KKR haven’t really utilised their resources. If you look at last year’s campaign, it was mostly around the starts that they used to get with Phil Salt and Sunil Narine. That’s not happening this season with their opening batters and that (has) certainly started putting pressure on their middle order.” “I felt the utilisation of Andre Russell hasn’t been really great from a KKR standpoint. Russell should bat higher. They certainly have the bowl line-up (to excel and just need to bat better),” said the former India captain.
“It was just a matter of time: Kumble on Rohit Sharma regaining form
Kumble was never worried about the lack of runs from Rohit’s bat and veteran Mumbai Indians batter finally came good against CSK.
“It was just a matter of time and I think the last innings that he played against CSK, you could sense that right from ball one although he’s in a hurry in the powerplay. He’s looking to sort of take on the bowlers,” Kumble said.
“His body language wasn’t really in a hurry (and) that I think is the calmness that you associate Rohit with when he’s at the crease and when he’s in really good form. I think (the) first couple of balls when I was watching, I could sense that today’s the day where he’s going to really score big. That was really important not just from Mumbai Indians perspective, but also from Rohit’s perspective,” said the former leg-spinner.
‘RCB have not adapted to conditions at home’
Each of RCB’s defeats this season have come at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium while they remain unbeaten away from home. The Chinnaswamy wicket which is usually a batting paradise, has played on the slower side this season, not suiting the style of play of the home team’s batters.
“People think that when you when you’re playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it’s going to be a flat track. You need 250 with the kind of impact players now and with the kind of batting that these young batters are doing, you feel as though whatever you score is not enough,” he said.
“So when you’re batting first, it becomes a bit of a challenge. What’s a good score? But again, you need to assess the conditions. Maybe that’s something that RCB haven’t done really well. I feel for RCB, especially when they’re batting first Virat (Kohli) becomes a very key player for them because all the batters around him look to really attack from ball one,” said Kumble.
Lastly, the champion spinner is happy to see his tribe do well in the IPL especially the young guns including Digvesh Rathi and Suyash Sharma.
“I’m really impressed with some of the young spinners on display. People who haven’t really played first-class cricket but have been able to hold their own,” he said.
“Suyash is one of them. Even when he first came onto the scene for KKR, I think his consistency has improved which is not easy with the kind of action that he has. He has bowled brilliantly for RCB.
“The pace at which he bowls, he doesn’t give too much time for the batters to use whatever they need to in terms of hitting him and I don’t see too many batters picking him.” “Digvesh hasn’t played first-class cricket. He came up the ranks playing local leagues and of course, in the Delhi Premier League, he impressed there and then now he’s the go-to bowler for Rishabh Pant (at LSG),” Kumble added.
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