Mitchell Starc and head coach Chandrakant Pandit had a lengthy discussion between themselves during the Kolkata Knight Riders’ training session at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. That was after the Knight Riders pace spearhead had spoken for quite some time with another member of the franchise’s support staff, after a bit of warm-up and running.
Not in the best rhythm so far in his comeback IPL, with even a lower-order batter like Karn Sharma — who’s predominantly a spinner — smashing him for three sixes in an over, one assumes Starc would make the best use of the training sessions in order to regain a bit of his tempo, especially before Friday’s home game against Punjab Kings.
But throughout Wednesday’s practice session, the left-arm quick didn’t bowl at all.
It may come across as a surprise to some, given the struggle the IPL’s most expensive player ever has had so far in the current edition. That said, Starc had sustained an injury in his bowling hand in the Knights’ previous game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Sunday, which they won by a run.
“Starc had sustained an injury in his bowling hand in the first over (of the RCB run chase). One of his fingers hurt. Yet, he kept bowling,” a KKR official said.
It is thus believed that Starc not bowling in Wednesday’s practice is more of a precautionary measure. Is there any doubt over his availability for Friday’s game? Even Sri Lanka pacer Dushmantha Chameera was seen bowling at the nets to the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, captain Shreyas Iyer and keeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
It could be so that the Knight Riders are keeping Chameera ready just in case he’s required on Friday.
The Knights looked a happy, relaxed bunch after the win over RCB helped them retain the No.2 position in the standings. The Phil Salts and Andre Russells went through the paces during the practice session, honing their skills ahead of the Punjab test which the Knights are expected to clear.
Skipper Shreyas, however, doesn’t want to think too far ahead or go overboard with his expectations.
“I am not keeping any expectations because whenever I keep certain expectations, I feel a lot of unnecessary pressure and when things don’t go your way, you get frustrated. I want to live in the present and keep my head down, work hard and maintain a rhythm throughout,” he said at the Knights Dugout Podcast.
The “electrifying atmosphere” at the Eden is something that Shreyas and his teammates seem to be banking upon.
“I had played here during the recent (ODI) World Cup (last year) and when I saw the crowd, it was just magnificent to see the flow of energy. It was an unbelievable experience,” Shreyas stated.