Kolkata Knight Riders will most likely have ace pacer Pat Cummins in their XI for the next game, which is against Mumbai Indians at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday.

Cummins, who wasn’t a part of Australia’s limited-overs matches on their tour to Pakistan, joined the Knight Riders squad last Friday with his quarantine set to be over on Monday.

“Yeah, he is actually,” head coach Brendon McCullum said, when asked if the Australia Test captain was available for selection for Wednesday’s contest.

With Cummins too now back in their scheme of things, it brings about a little bit of selection headache for the Knight Riders. But they aren’t complaining at all.

“Pretty delighted to get Pat back... He’s one of those guys who adjusts so well in this environment and is a wonderful human being. He is a strong leader as well, so he should be of good help to skipper Shreyas (Iyer), who has been impressive as well.

“We have now got a selection headache because we’ve got more guys to pick from, which I think is a good problem to have,” McCullum said.

For sure, the Knight Riders are in a far better position compared to Mumbai. While the Knights have won two out of their three matches so far, Rohit Sharma and his teammates have lost both their games.

The Knights, though, aren’t reading much into the five-time champions’ current position. “We are very respectful of Mumbai,” McCullum stated.

“Even with a couple of losses so far, they will still remain poised (to go the distance) and we expect them to play well and turn things around,” he said.

Umesh role

Umesh Yadav’s spells have been pivotal for the Knights. The India Test pacer has picked up eight wickets so far. Knights’ mentor David Hussey credited bowling coach Bharat Arun for the effort he has put in.“At present, Umesh is probably the best bowler in this IPL,” Hussey said.

“Him and (Bharat) Arun work very, very well together.”