Over the years the Indian Premier League has been about high-intensity games. More often than not we see players of the same side clash against each other. In the past, we saw Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu go up against each other during their time with the Mumbai Indians. Now in the recent past, we’ve been seeing Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik go up against each other during KKR’s matches last year.

Though very recently Dinesh Karthik cleared the air that there are no misunderstandings between the two. However, the heated banter the players had on the field last year wasn’t a pleasant one. We saw how Russell bashed Karthik in the post-match press conference for Karthik’s judgements on the field. Even former KKR spinner Brad Hogg doesn’t think that the relationship and past things the duo share is a good thing for KKR going ahead.

Russell and Karthik’s relationship only flaw in KKR – Hogg

Brad Hogg, while appearing on his show ‘Hogg’s Vlog’ on YouTube said that the KKR side has one flaw and that is it the relationship between Russell and Karthik. He doesn’t appreciate the fact that Russell reveals in media the incorrect decisions Karthik takes on the field. As players in the past have believed to go by the phrase, ‘What happens in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room’.

“What is the one flaw in this team? There is only one – the relationship between Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik. We can’t have Andre Russell come out in the media after the game and say we didn’t make the right decisions. That’s got to be done behind closed doors,” said Hogg. 

Moreover, Brad Hogg wants their coach Brendon McCullum to intervene and get things rectified between the two. Since if things aren’t sorted early, it can have a severe effect on the other players in the franchise. Which will hamper the Kolkata based franchise’s success going ahead in the tournament.

“Brendon McCullum has to make sure he rectifies that relationship, gets on top of it early, because, if there is a little bit of disharmony in this line-up, it can have a ripple effect in a bio-secure environment, and things can get out of hand very quickly,” Hogg said. 

On the other hand, some people are of the opinion that England’s World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan should take over as KKR’s captain. Even though Dinesh Karthik has had great success ever since been appointed captain in 2018.