Knights Pandey, Pathan seek IPL platform for Champions Trophy
KOLKATA: Some of the Knights had a busy Monday morning and it had nothing to do with cricket.
Fulfilling off-the-pitch commitments --- par for the course during the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 10th edition of which starts on Wednesday --had Manish Pandey, Chris Lynn, Surya Kumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan and Darren Bravo traversing from the eastern fringe of the city to downtown, from a sports museum to a jewellery store.
Is that why they couldn’t stick to schedule or was it because they were unveiling bling that they were ‘fashionably’ late? At the jewellery, Bravo and his mates even dropped their precious catch before officially launching the limited edition merchandise amid all-round laughter.
For Pandey, the 10th IPL would be an opportunity to get noticed ahead of the Champions Trophy. “It will be important for me to perform well again in the IPL and look forward to the Champions Trophy. But for now, I am focusing on the IPL,” said KKR’s No. 3 batsman.
Ditto Pathan. “To make a comeback for the country is the ultimate aim. It’s about making full use of the opportunity I get here. In fact, I started my career through IPL first season,” said the 34-year-old all-rounder who hasn’t played for India since March 2012 but made a 35-ball 56 with three fours and three sixes in the last T20 match he played.
That was on February 4 for Baroda against Maharashtra.
“Yusuf Pathan’s role is to hit the fastest fifty of the tournament,” said Lynn.
‘RCB, TEAM TO BEAT’ Lynn downplayed the absence of players such as teammate Umesh Yadav. “There are 14 games and they are only out for a few. They won’t have any impact as a whole. They have played enough IPL to fit into their respective roles straightaway after they return,” said the Australian who is best remembered for his stunning catch that turned around a match for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014.
That came against Royal Challengers Bangalore, a team Lynn said would be the one to beat this term “because of the strength of their batting line-up.” Going into this edition, KKR and RCB have a 9-9 head-to-head record.
AT HOME AT EDEN
Bravo, whose half-brother Dwayne has been a marquee player in this league, said being part of the Knights is like being in the family, a home away from home. The brothers played for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League last year, a team which has the same owners as KKR. That Bravo, 28, also scored a Test century at Eden could accentuate that feeling of coming home.