Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra added that the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Indian batting, including Rinku Singh, is one of their strengths heading into IPL 2024 as well. Rinku (474), Nitish Rana (413) and Venkatesh Iyer (404) were the
KKR’s top run-getters in IPL 2023. Their Indian batting has been further strengthened by the return of Shreyas Iyer, who missed the last edition due to a back injury.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “The first strength you see is the Indian batting contingent. They have Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh. Just think about it, four good Indian players who have all played for India.”
“Rinku Singh is in red-hot form. Shreyas Iyer is on a comeback trail. Venkatesh Iyer was also playing decently, he played well last year too, and Nitish Rana is a very good player. So that makes it four Indian batters,” the former India opener added. “That’s their biggest strength because if you prepare even slightly turning pitches, you need a batting lineup that plays spin well. If it’s a turning pitch, they might play Rahmanullah Gurbaz. If it’s a flat pitch, they might play Phil Salt.”
Aakash Chopra again added that KKR also have Andre Russell in the lower-middle order. However, he acknowledged that the Jamaican all-rounder is no longer the KKR’s protagonist, claiming Rinku Singh has taken over that role as well.
“So the Indian batting core is very good and the same is the case with the spinners. The spin department is excellent. You have Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Suyash Sharma and Anukul Roy,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “You have four good spinners, in whom all options are available. You have a leg-spinner in the form of Suyash, a mystery spinner in the form of Varun, Sunil Narine – another off-spinner or mystery spinner, and then you have got Anukul Roy, who can give you left-arm spin.”
