IPL 2021: “It Never Seemed Kolkata Knight Riders Will Make It To Top 4” – Irfan Pathan And Aakash Chopra Praise Eoin Morgan-Led Franchise

Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Aakash Chopra have praised Kolkata Knight Riders’ performance in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League 2021. The Eoin Morgan-led team became the fourth side to qualify for the playoffs on Friday.

Kolkata Knight Riders secured 14 points in the league stages and qualified on a better Net Run Rate than the Mumbai Indians. They won five out of the seven matches played in UAE in the second leg of the tournament. Irfan Pathan praised KKR saying that it did not seem like they would qualify, but their performance is praiseworthy. He said,

“It was not good at all and it never seemed that they will make it to the top four. But it is praiseworthy how they have performed in the UAE. A couple of things are still missing and they have done it despite that.”

Irfan Pathan highlighted that Dinesh Karthik’s form is a positive sign for the franchise heading into the playoffs. Karthik made valuable contributions batting lower down the order in the last couple of matches.

“A small positive that we saw in the last match, Dinesh Karthik’s slight form, his unbeaten knock, and Morgan hit a six. So this will give them the confidence and it will be useful in the playoffs,” said Irfan Pathan.

𝐐u̶e̶u̶e̶d̶ up for playoffs 💪#KKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/ytpdrcN8lV

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 8, 2021

All the young Indian players have scripted Kolkata Knight Riders’ comeback: Aakash Chopra

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has been all praise for the young Indian cricketers in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ team. He believes that the young Indians have played a major role in the franchise’s comeback in IPL 2021.

The likes of Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Venkatesh Iyer, and Nitish Rana have contributed massively to the team’s cause with the bat, while Varun Chakravarthy has been KKR’s star performer with the ball. Aakash Chopra said,

“You have taken Shubman Gill’s name, it’s great, it’s not only him but all the young Indian players have scripted KKR’s comeback. It is one of the most fascinating turnarounds.”

There is Shubman, Iyer, Nitish, Varun, and Rahul Tripathi. All of them together have taken the team forward. Morgan hasn’t scored runs and despite that, you didn’t miss his absence. I mean hats off to the Indians in the Indian Premier League, they are shining,” Aakash Chopra concluded.