Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will miss the services of star Australian recruits Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch in their first five matches of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, the team's mentor David Hussey said on Wednesday. (More Cricket News)
It comes as a blow to the two-time winners who begin their campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the opening day of the tournament on March 26. (KKR Full Schedule)
“Well, it is a concern, you want your best players available, but international cricket should be the para-limit. Every cricketer should want to play international cricket for their countries so they have commitments that way,” Hussey said during a virtual media conference.
Advertisement
“I think Cummins and Finch will miss the first five games but they will be cricket fit and cricket ready. So, once they hit the ground running, both quality people and they will fit into the dressing room perfectly well,” he stated further.
Australia's ongoing tour of Pakistan ends on April 5 while KKR's fifth match of the season is scheduled for April 10. KKR were earlier dealt a blow after T20 specialist Alex Hales withdrew from the tournament citing bubble fatigue.
Adding to KKR's misery is the Australian duo of Cummins and Finch, who was roped in as Hales’ replacement, missing the team's first few games as they are touring Pakistan. Hussey believed new KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer has a good cricketing brain and has proved his skills as a leader during his stint as Delhi Capitals captain.
Advertisement
Iyer, who led Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020, was bought by KKR for Rs 12.25 crore at the mega auction last month. “Shreyas is a born leader, just the way he walks around, he commands respect. Knowing Pat (Cummins) really well, he would be a good deputy and would also lead from the front,” Hussey said.
“But the way Shreyas has captained in the past for Delhi, he has a very good cricket brain and a nice vision of how to play the game and I think he will express himself really well. I think it's a smart move from Brendon (McCullum) and KKR management.”
Asked how he would go about handling the 27-year-old, he replied: "The best coaching is to just leave the good players alone, let them go where they work. He is in rare form at the moment. I don't know him, I'm getting to know him but he comes across as true leader and a person who knows his game really really well.”
