After a successful Indian Premier League Auction on December 16, Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) recently appointed assistant coach Shane Watson has lauded head coach Abhishek Nayar’s knowledge of Indian cricket.
Speaking on Kolkata Knight Riders’ YouTube channel, Watson said, “I’ll say this straight away, I think Abhishek Nayar knows just about every cricketer on the planet. His understanding of Indian domestic players, their stats, where they’re at, what they’ve been doing recently, the depth of his intel – it’s extraordinary. I’m not sure I’ve come across anyone with that level of knowledge across Indian cricket.”
“Going into the auction, I had complete confidence that even if we missed out on any domestic player we were targeting, Abhishek would already have had two or three alternatives lined up, with clear insight into their strengths. He was regularly sending me videos, breaking down each player’s performances across every possible scenario. That level of preparation gave us enormous confidence. Leaning on Abhishek’s intel, we knew things were going to work out well for us in the auction. When you have someone like Abhishek leading that process, you know you’re always going to build a squad filled with some serious domestic talent and quality,” Watson further added.
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However, Watson also shared that he is a huge fan of Cameron Green. He also shed light on buying Green for a record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore, making him the most expensive overseas buy in IPL history as well.
“I’m going to initially talk from my selfish point of view, okay? I’ve always been a massive fan of Cameron Green. I’m an all-rounder at heart, so I know what it takes to push the limits to be the best all-rounder that you possibly can be. And I’ve always absolutely loved everything about Cameron Green – the way he goes about his skill set as a batter, and his incredible skill set as a bowler as well. He’s got incredible height, he’s got incredible skill, and I’ve been wanting to have a chance to be able to work with him really closely,” he said.
However, Cameron Green will now play for his third IPL franchise, following earlier stints with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as well.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with him over the years, to be able to just help him wherever he needs it. But I haven’t had a chance to be able to work with him in a team and help him on his journey to be the very best that he possibly can be. Now, because of KKR, I get a chance to be able to work with him and pass on my knowledge that I was so fortunate to be able to gain throughout my playing days, playing with so many incredible players,” Watson said.
“From a KKR perspective, to be able to have someone who can bat in the top three, (he has scored IPL hundreds in those positions) or if needed, he also can bat at six and seven and power hit – he’s an incredible power hitter. That makes him incredibly versatile. He is also a world-class fast bowler. He’s tall, he gets bounce, and he’s also got more to be able to grow from a bowling perspective,” Shane Watson concluded.
