Chandrakant Pandit, the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, is optimistic that Shreyas Iyer will be able to participate in the current Indian Premier League. Iyer’s back injury has prevented him from competing in the tournament thus far, and it is unclear if he will ever be able to do so. As a result, on Tuesday (March 28), KKR formally announced Nitish Rana as their captain for the upcoming campaign.
“Whatever little cricket I have played or coached, I have never gone back over things like squad unavailability,” Pandit said. “Shreyas’s absence will make a difference since he is important, but this is truly unfortunate. We are hoping Shreyas will be back very soon and that will make a lot of difference to the team.
“When we select players and give responsibility to players, we see who is capable. And Nitish is capable. He has been with KKR for a long time and also has a strong domestic record. Like they say, ‘all boxes to be ticked’ and it has come down to that. I am comfortable knowing he can handle the role. We don’t see whether someone is deserving or not. Every player has different skills, and after thinking about what Nitish brings to the table, we are confident with the decision.”