Pat Cummins will again play a crucial role for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the coming edition of the IPL. The speedster himself, however, thinks that the calmness and current form of new captain Shreyas Iyer would be very important for the team this season.

The Knights, runners-up last season, clash with reigning champions Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener at the Wankhede in Mumbai next Saturday.

“Really excited to be back at KKR... It’s been great that most of the squad has been kept together at KKR, so I know a lot of the players,” the Australia Test captain, bought back by the Knights for Rs 7.25 crore at the auction last month, said on Sunday.

“As for Shreyas, I played with him at Delhi (in IPL 2017 for erstwhile Delhi DareDevils) and we got on really well. He seems like a really calm guy and appears to be in the right form at the moment.

“I have got really close friends that I’ll be playing alongside, so can’t wait for the tournament to begin,” Cummins added.Shreyas, too, has acknowledged that the presence of a senior pro like Cummins in the team is hugely beneficial.

Donning the Knights jersey since IPL 2020, Cummins has represented the franchise in 21 matches, scalping as many wickets. He has chipped in as an useful lower-order batsman too, scoring a couple of half-centuries.

Challenging times

The adjustment needed in order to perform across all formats has been tough, especially in these Covid times, Cummins agreed. But he has no complaints.

“What changed in the last couple of years is that the time on tour has been about being locked away in hotel rooms and flying in and out of tours, with normally some quarantine period filling in the already condensed schedule.

“But we feel really lucky to still do our job and travel the world and experience some amazing series. So it hasn’t been all bad and we’re getting back to normality now,” Cummins explained.