Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer is the team to beat in IPL 2022. The Kolkata franchise had a stellar outing in the last game, thrashing Mayank Agarwal‘s Punjab Kings.
Kolkata have fielded a new squad in this competition under a young and dynamic captain in Shreyas Iyer. The Purple Brigade made a bright start to the campaign, beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
However, they were handed a defeat in their next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore before hitting the winning strides against Punjab Kings. While they have had a mixed campaign, KKR have looked aggressive in their strategies with Iyer at the helm.
Shreyas Iyer’s leadership capabilities have also impressed Irfan Pathan. Speaking to Hindustan Times, the cricketer-turned-commentator said:
“Very very impressive because when he started captaincy in 2018 for Delhi, he was very young and very raw. Now he has got the confidence. What he has started to do is…like here when the game was starting to go away early on, Punjab started really well and they were aggressive from the start. Rajapaksa scored 9-ball 31.”
Irfan Pathan added:
“But Iyer called Umesh, then Mavi came – got hit for runs and then took a wicket, and then he called Varun Chakravarthy. He wanted to press the game even harder against PBKS. KKR is looking very very solid as far as leadership is concerned. After Gautam Gambhir, under Shreyas Iyer, this is the team to beat.”
“He got a nice understanding of maneuvering the bowlers” – Irfan Pathan on Shreyas Iyer
Mesmerised with his captaincy skills against the Punjab franchise in their clash, Irfan Pathan praised the youngster for his strategies and game plan.
“Then the ninth over was the key when he called Umesh and he got the wicket of Lima Livingstone and then the whole game changed. He got a nice understanding of maneuvering the bowlers as well. He is very smart,” he concluded.
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