The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will play in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season with all-rounder Shardul Thakur of Team India.
In the previous season, Thakur played for the Delhi Capitals (DC), who later traded him to KKR in an all-cash deal worth $10.75 million before the IPL 2023 mini-auction.
Prior to this year’s cash-rich league, the 31-year-old travelled to Kolkata to join the Knight Riders’ training camp. Shardul Thakur expressed his joy at being selected to represent the two-time winners when he arrived by saying.
“I’m really excited and nervous to be a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders family. Obviously a champion team with two titles. One of India’s stadiums with the most patronage is Eden Gardens. So it will be amazing whenever I enter the field as a Knight Rider.”
“There is something unique about Kolkata. The Indian team also broke a lot of records here. On this field, hopefully, our team, KKR, will set a lot more records,” he continued.
The previous season, Shardul Thakur participated in 14 games for Delhi and took 15 wickets at an ordinary economy rate of 9.78. He also ran for 120 runs at a strike rate of 137.93 per cent.
Shardul Thakur on KKR supporters: “The crowd behind us matters more than anything.”
Shardul Thakur went on to discuss how important fans are to an IPL team’s success. He emphasized that with the tournament switching back to its home-and-away format, KKR will need the backing of the crowd to succeed. He also emphasized how, on occasion, teams have recovered to win games solely on the strength of the stadium’s spectators.
He further says, “I have played earlier in front of KKR crowd and spectators at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.”
“I firmly agree that Indian cricket fans are a vital component. Additionally, our (in) personal lives because, you know, the chanting that takes place in the stadium and their energy keeps things moving. Away and home games will now be played by teams. Thus, during home games, the support of the fans seated behind us is most important.”
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