IPL 2018 has started off with a lot of nail-biting match finishes and also injuries lurking around corners that have left the players out of the tournament or for the first half of the league. Mitchell Starc was one of the ace pace bowlers robbed in by Kolkata Knight Riders but his injury has ruled him out before the league started. This led KKR management go for Tom Curran, the England all-rounder as his replacement.
There has been a lot of changes in Knight camo this season as the team only retained Uthappa, Narine and star all-rounder Russel. Dinesh Karthik was the newly appointed captain along with the team spending a lot to buy the U19 stars. The first game was neck to neck contest against Royal Challenger’s Bangalore and KKR easily won it. Curran didn’t get a place in the first game.
In the second match, he was brought in place of Mitchell Johnson in Chepauk stadium. The game was a high scoring match for both the sides until CSK won it at last in a thriller with Jadeja’s six. Curran wasn’t bad enough though he wasn’t economical but got two important wickets of Rayudu and Dhoni. Kallis who is the batting coach of KKR revealed that Curran is an excellent replacement for Starc.
“It was a blow to lose Mitchell Starc at short notice but we are not alone – Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada were also ‘casualties’ of a hard-fought Test series between South Africa and Australia. But Tom Curran is an excellent replacement and I’m excited to have him on board. Obviously, he has particular skills for bowling at the end of the innings, but he can bowl anywhere, and I would be surprised if his batting doesn’t make a few important contributions along the way,” said Kallis for TOI.
Curran is a great future prospect for England cricket. He initially was a domestic player and later was given chance to play for England in all formats. In the boxing day of the Ashes series, he bowled well but missed a chance of bowling out Warner in 99 because of a no ball. His best performance till date is his ODI 5 wicket haul against Australia.
Hope Curran makes it the best for KKR in the upcoming games. KKR will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens Kolkata on Saturday.
