"Three Mystery Spinners...": Ex India Bowling Coach On KKR's Plan To Tame Hardik Pandya's GT

On a high after Suyash Sharma's dream IPL debut, Kolkata Knight Riders are mulling playing three spinners against defending champions Gujarat Titans, bowling coach Bharat Arun said on Saturday. The relatively unknown 19-year-old from Delhi was a welcome addition to KKR's "mystery" spin lineup of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, as the trio claimed nine wickets between them to bowl out Royal Challengers Bangalore for 123 in a chase of 205 in their previous outing. On a pitch that aids pace and bounce, KKR would not shy away from bowling the trio in tandem again.

"With the impact player rule it gives us a lot of options, we would be excited to go with three mystery spinners, as you would call it," Arun said during a media interaction.

Suyash was included as the impact player in place of Venkatesh Iyer in their match against RCB at Eden Gardens on Thursday, a move that paid off with the youngster claiming 3/30 to mark a splendid debut.

"That's something on the go. It's got to be a very dynamic decision, we will take it on the go." Bowling with a high-speed action, leg-spinner Suyash has not played any first-class or List A match.

"We saw a lot of potential in him before we picked him. We saw him in a couple of games and he was exciting.

"He's got a dream start, something that would give him a great foundation. But only time would tell how well he adapts to the conditions," added Arun.

KKR suffered a seven-run defeat by DLS method against Punjab Kings in their IPL season-opener, before returning to winning ways against RCB at Eden Gardens.

Leading the side in absence of an injured Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana is yet to fire with the bat and got out for 1 against RCB after playing an irresponsible shot at the start of his innings.

Arun, however, backed his skipper and said his lack of runs was not a concern for them.

"He's young. He is got very good cricketing acumen, that's the reason we have chosen him as the captain. We are confident that he'll be doing well for us," he said.

English opener Jason Roy, who was roped in as a replacement for Shakib-Al-Hasan, has bolstered the team ahead of their Gujarat Titans match.

"It's great, he is an exciting player. He would certainly add a lot of value to us. We are all very excited about it," he said. 

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Topics mentioned in this article

Kolkata Knight Riders Gujarat Titans Suyash Sharma Nitish Rana Hardik Pandya IPL 2023 Cricket