Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Harshit Rana said that he is missing the thrill and the aura of Gautam Gambhir in the Indian Premier League 2025 season. Speaking ahead of the match against Delhi Capitals, set to take place on Tuesday, April 29, Rana said that while the coaching staff was nearly the same, he still missed the thrill of last season.
KKR had to let go of two of their coaches after their title-winning season as the Indian cricket team appointed Gautam Gambhir and Abishek Nayar as the head and assistant coach, respectively. While Gambhir still has the job, Nayar was sacked after the team’s disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
“I won’t say that because the composition of our support staff is basically the same (from last year). (Abhishek) Nayar Bhai has also come back. Chandu Sir, (Dwayne) Bravo are all good. But yes, there is this thrill factor which I miss a little. I am not talking about anyone else,” Harshit Rana said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Delhi Capitals.
“You also know that Gambhir has an aura, the way he comes and takes the team along. I was just talking about that,” he added.
Abhishek Nayar returned to KKR midway through the IPL season and went straight to work with the batters, who are struggling in the Indian Premier League. Rana said that the return of Nayar was a big boost for the team as he knew all of the Indian core and had developed it in his time at the franchise.
“There will be a lot of changes now that he (Abhishek Nayar) has come back. Because he is a very smart mind. He reads situations very well and he knows the Indian core of our (KKR) team very well. He has groomed them for many years. So we also get a lot of help now that he has come back. So it feels good,” Harshit Rana added.
KKR’s batting has failed them in the ongoing season of the IPL. Apart from the fact that the opening combination has not clicked at all, Venkatesh Iyer, their most expensive buy of the mega-auction, has been woefully out of form. KKR have also been criticised for not utilising their assets properly. They have been called out for delaying the entry points of their tall lower-order, comprising Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh.
After playing 9 games, KKR are tottering at the bottom half of the points table with just 3 wins from 9 games. The franchise has been in constant tussle with the home pitch, which has not been to their liking. KKR will be playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, which might help their spinners more than it does at Kolkata.
KKR need to win all their matches to make sure that they reach the play-offs this season.
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