"I don't think there's anything like it" - Nitish Rana on Kuldeep Yadav's remarks about KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Nitish Rana has played down Kuldeep Yadav's recent comment that the franchise didn't take IPL 2021 'seriously'. Rana said there was no such issue although the team has some 'scope for improvement'.
KKR were seventh in the table when IPL 2021 was called off after multiple breaches in the tournament’s COVID-19-induced bio-bubble. A decision on when and where the remainder of the matches will be played is expected soon.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Kuldeep Yadav, who didn't play a single game this year, compared the current team environment with that of the Gautam Gambhir era. He said that, unlike the team under Gambhir, KKR lacked the hunger to win games this year.
Nitish Rana termed the comments as a reaction to the team's overall poor outing. Rana told IndiaTV Cricket on Wednesday:
"Obviously when one team isn't performing well people talk about a lot of things. As a KKR player, I don't think there's anything like it. Obviously, we can improve when we lose, and even when we win, the scope for improvement is always there."
Rana added:
"In my opinion, yes, we can do a bit better as Indian players, me and Shubman. If we contribute a bit more, it will help KKR and we'll probably be able to take the trophy home."
KKR could only muster two wins and four points from seven games in IPL 2021. To make the qualifiers, they will have to win almost every game when the season resumes in September.
The team risks further embarrassment with captain Eoin Morgan under scrutiny for alleged racist remarks.
Nitish Rana credits KKR with his call-up to the national team
Nitish Rana was the team's top scorer in the first half of IPL 2021, with 201 runs at an average of 28.71. The performance has earned him a call-up to the national side for the forthcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
The 27-year-old southpaw thanked the franchise for organizing the KKR Academy to help youngsters like him during the off-season. Nitish Rana said:
"They started the KKR Academy three years ago and it has helped me immensely. You can't make too many changes to your batting during the season. But I know when I had the time during the off-season and I used to go to the academy, there were always two guys standing there to help me out with everything."
Nitish Rana added:
"Thanks to KKR as they have started such a thing and youngsters like me have reaped its benefits. If you look at this [Sri Lanka-bound] team as well, we have four players from KKR with two being newcomers. It's an achievement for both KKR and us."
The Shikhar Dhawan-led side will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in Sri Lanka from July 13.