Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) trio of Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti has insisted everyone take notice when they have taken the field in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
Pacers Mavi and Nagarkoti, who have endured injuries and insecurities for the last couple of years, have subsided every distraction and have taken the centrestage particularly in KKR’s first three games.
After being picked up in the 2018 mega auction to play for the KKR franchise, after their performances in the Under-19 World Cup, 2018, the trio didn’t get enough chances.
Shivam Mavi played 9 games for KKR in the 2018 season and took just five wickets with an economy of 9.54. Although he impressed with his pace, he looked a work-in-progress bowler. His returns were poor, however, the management stuck with him and retained him for the next season as well, unfortunately, he was ruled out due to a stress fracture.
On the other hand, Nagarkoti’s journey has been more challenging as he missed both the seasons for his side in previous years. Dinesh Karthik, the KKR skipper, has time and again emphasised the owners and team management’s role in sticking with the both of them when they weren’t available to play.
Shubman Gill, however, has had a less troublesome time but wasn’t able to stamp his authority on the IPL and in the KKR line-up due to the presence of experienced players at the top. Last year, although, he started to open the innings and impressed everyone with his temperament and playing style, without taking many risks.
In the 2018 IPL season, he played 13 games, out of which in the majority of them he was batting at No 7 and didn’t get enough balls to play. He did come into bat in the top-order once, where he scored an unbeaten 57. After which he was made a regular opener in the last season. In 14 matches in 2019, Gill made 296 runs at an average of 32.88, with three 50+ scores. Even though he played all the games, many felt that he didn’t perform to his potential.
Now, with all three of them fit and raring to go, it was the best opportunity for KKR to play all of them together and see what they can do at the big stage of IPL. Gill has scored 124 runs in three matches with an average of 62 and has been really good, pacing his innings according to the situation.
Mavi on the other hand has been exemplary, taking four wickets in three games with an economy rate of just 6.7. And, Nagarkoti has performed with bat, ball and was exceptional in the field against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.
Here are some of the reactions of fans and experts, praising the resilience of the players and KKR team management for investing in them and backing them to the hilt through their tough times and showing faith in their ability:
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