KKR aim to rise from Warner punch Rai’s directive to rein in officials
After being taken apart by SRH skipper David Warner, Kolkata team will have to find its feet again vs RPS
Only half in jest has Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) owner Shah Rukh Khan said that whenever he feels a little arrogant about himself, he visits the USA where immigration issues usually bring him down to earth. Did the recent visit to Hyderabad have the same effect on his Indian Premier League team?
KKR went to the Nizam’s city on top of the table. They took a shellacking on Sunday, which coupled with Mumbai Indians making the most of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s woeful run meant the Knights were dislodged from the top perch.
KKR will look to shake off the effect when they face Rising Pune Supergiant on Wednesday.
It wasn’t the first time holders Sunrisers Hyderabad had pricked more than KKR’s pride. Last year, KKR won against them home and away but lost in the eliminator.
WARNER’S BLITZ
With Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner exploding --- it is not easy to make Shikhar Dhawan look sedate but the Australian pocket Hercules did just that --- KKR never really looked like they were in the game. Sitting in the opposition dugout, Shakib Al Hasan said it was one of the best innings of the IPL.
As they ready to host a team that is living up to its name and winning close games on Wednesday, KKR will hope Sunday’s humiliation was once too many. Rising Pune Supergiant flew into town on Tuesday evening, and skipped training after a late night win against Gujarat Lions. What could be more ominous for KKR is that MS Dhoni and Ben Stokes are hitting the ball well.
“I think he will ….have a bigger impact by the end of this IPL,” RPS skipper Steve Smith said about Dhoni. And with a century on Monday, Stokes showed why the franchise paid Rs 14.5 crore for this beefcake of an all-rounder.
“I think we just got to execute our plans, hit our areas and try and bowl to areas where he is not as strong,” said KKR all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme. The devil though will lie in the details.
RPS also beat Royal Challengers Bangalore before that. In their last five games, RPS have won four, the only blip being the loss at home against KKR, but Stokes didn’t play that game. The resurgence after a start that saw them surprise Mumbai Indians has taken RPG into the top four.
Despite the Warner treatment, KKR’s bowlers would fancy their chances on a helpful Eden wicket. In comparison, RPS’ bowling looks depleted. With Yusuf Pathan’s form patchy and neither of de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Surya Kumar Yadav and Sheldon Jackson really firing, KKR’s lower order batting has been a concern and they will hope the underbelly is not exposed on Wednesday.
Chris Lynn, who set the tone for KKR with some swashbuckling batting, trained on Tuesday and batted for nearly half-anhour with a heavily strapped left shoulder.
Lynn was injured attempting a catch in second match against Mumbai Indians.
The Committee of Administrators (CoA) has issued a directive through a letter to BCCI that any decision to invoke the Member Participation Agreement (MPA) that pre-empts the Special General Meeting (SGM) on May 7 will need a prior approval from them.
The CoA had to shoot the missive after it had learnt that a handful of members were pressurising the acting secretary to send a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) well before the SGM to invoke the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) which can lead to the Indian board pulling out of Champions Trophy and other ICC events.
CoA head Vinod Rai told HT, “The SGM will decide on the course of action to be taken for participation in the Champions Trophy. What we have made clear is that any decision pertaining to the exercise of any rights or remedies under the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) that pre-empts the SGM will be done only through the prior approval of the CoA. The CoA doesn’ t want members press uri sing the secretary or any top official into sending a letter to ICC before the SGM, as had come to light. Let it be decided at the SGM.”
The BCCI has convened an urgent Special General Meeting in New Delhi on May 7 to decide on the new constitution of the ICC that has cut India’s share in revenues and reduced their say in governance from what had been promised under the 2014 ‘Big Three’ model which is now scrapped.
The SGM assumes significance because the members will decide on whether to invoke the MPA or not -- in short, whether to send the team to next month’s Champions Trophy or not. A section of the BCCI that is in favour of exercising the MPA believes that this is the last chance to do it. Otherwise, it will become very difficult after June when the new constitution comes in place, some officials say.
The CoA’s letter to BCCI stated, “All letters, notices and other correspondence on behalf of the BCCI which seek to invoke or exercise any rights/ remedies under the Members Participation Agreement entered into between the BCCI and the ICC Business Corporation FZ-LLC (“IBC”) shall only be issued with the prior approval of the Committee of Administrators.”
“The direction in Paragraph 1 above shall also apply to letters, notices and other correspondence which seek to invoke or exercise any rights/ remedies against the ICC.”
It added: “With a view to ensuring that the management and administration of the BCCI are carried out in accordance with the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as in the interests of good governance.