Before it's too late, KKR need to have a chat about Shreyas Iyer
Usually, there isn't too much to read into an IPL franchise or a player's social media posts. It's almost always a few people offering updates and working towards getting engagement to build a brand that the fans can resonate with.
But what Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) posted soon after the team's win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 was different. The post had a caption, "And that's how Tiger Iyer preys!", referring to skipper Shreyas Iyer's run-a-ball 38 in the second innings as KKR chased down 162 with eight wickets and 26 balls to spare.
It was confusing because a strike rate of 100 is hardly ever praise-worthy in T20s. And it becomes worse as the number of balls taken for it goes higher. Shreyas did extremely well to survive the early bout of wickets. But he struggled to get away after being set, even as Phil Salt scored a 47-ball 89 at the other end.
Even though it came in a win, the skipper's knock deprived KKR of some decent net run rate points. The franchise deleted that post after about an hour but the remnants of its underlying narrative have continued to haunt KKR and Shreyas.
Only a few teams depend on anchors in IPL 2024 and, with the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mitchell Starc to follow Shreyas in the batting order, KKR aren't one of them.
Still, the skipper has managed a strike-rate of just 126.67 in seven matches this season. When KKR batters together have scored 10.64 runs per over, only behind SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) so far, Shreyas has cantered at just 7.6 runs per over.
He has been able to give KKR stability in the middle order in a few games but more often than not, his numbers on the scorecard have veiled his poor form. That was palpable against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday afternoon.
KKR were 75/3 at the end of the powerplay and needed a strong partnership to make it big. Shreyas started well against leg-spinner Karn Sharma and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and was at 15 (8) just before the ninth over.
But when Venkatesh Iyer got out at the other end a few balls later, Shreyas fell into his shell. In the next 21 balls, till the beginning of the 16th over, he scored just 22 runs. Boundaries dried up as he avoided muscling any sixes and instead focussed on finding gaps - which he often couldn't - while standing deep in his crease.
He got out in the 18th, soon after hitting his seventh boundary and first six, and left just enough time for Ramandeep and Russell to take KKR from 177/6 to 222/6. That total proved to be just one run too many to beat RCB in a final-ball thriller.
"It was a pivotal knock I would say because I wanted to stay till the end and see to it that I steady the ship for the team," Shreyas said after the match. "We were losing back-to-back wickets in between so I basically decided to stay till the end and get a few fours here and there and change the momentum towards us. That was happening really well."
In the second innings, as the pitch got a touch quicker and better for batting, Shreyas' counterpart and RCB's number four, Rajat Patidar displayed a contrasting approach. He, too, came to the crease at a precarious 35/2 but smoked KKR's more seasoned bowlers for a 23-ball 52 laced with five sixes.
Had Karn Sharma managed to take RCB through in the final over, Patidar and Shreyas' knocks and those 21 deliveries in the first innings would have been seen in a completely different light. And it hasn't always worked out like this.
KKR have been given multiple warning signs
In the match before RCB, against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden which was another last-ball thriller, Shreyas came to bat in the 11th over with the score at 106/2 and KKR flying high over Sunil Narine's quick-fire knock.
He hit a four on his second ball, played a couple of dots against Yuzvendra Chahal, hit a six, and got out for 11 (7) in the 13th over. Now, this feels like he didn't waste much time and even if he didn't add to the total, he didn't slow KKR down.
But that's what scorecards don't tell you. Shreyas has a strike rate of 120 against spinners in IPL 2024 while Ramandeep's figure reads at 142.85.
When Shreyas came to bat, RR had four overs of spin left. But when he got out, KKR had to stay true to Russell's entry point of 13-14 overs. The West Indian couldn't get going immediately against Ravichandran Ashwin and Ramandeep watched all of that from the dressing room before coming out to face one ball.
At the moment, it feels like KKR are needlessly playing with these fine margins. There's a role defined for each player in the team better than ever: Sunil Narine and Phil Salt to bash in the powerplay, Angkrish Raghuvanshi to continue that at number three, Shreyas to anchor, Venkatesh to come in the middle overs to take on spinners, Russell, Rinku, and Ramandeep to provide muscle in the final overs.
KKR have been quite flexible with the batting positions of the entire middle-order. However, Shreyas has constantly batted at number four or five, irrespective of the match-ups, the innings' situation, and the team's needs.
This has just about worked when KKR have lost early wickets and needed stabilisation but gone wrong in times when the team has been batting well and needed someone to increase the momentum. In both cases, the team hasn't utilised its true batting potential, forcing bowlers to compensate every time.
Before the fine margins start going the opposition's way, KKR need to have a chat on Shreyas' entry point. If he's just their anchor and they don't trust his power-hitting ability, he doesn't need to come out to bat after the eighth or ninth overs. Instead, Ramandeep or Rinku should be trusted depending on the match-ups.
On the other hand, if they believe that he's much better than what his career strike rate of 125.47 shows, he needs to bat more freely after getting set in middle-overs, trusting his steely lower order to do the job if he gets out early trying to hit.
The Mumbaikar has been one of the better leaders on the field in IPL 2024. He has got his bowling plans right and has been clinical with his body language.
Now, even though it's tough to do it with a T20 World Cup reeling ahead, he perhaps needs to be more happy-go-lucky in how he goes about his batting. Individual runs and numbers suit scorecards and social media posts but it's only the complete utilization of all resources that wins you the trophies.