"Completely shook the team right from the top order to the middle-order" - Harbhajan Singh on KKR's struggles in IPL 2022
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are in a precarious situation in IPL 2022 because of the constant chopping and changing in their playing XI. He feels the team management hasn't shown enough trust in the players and that has cost them dearly this season.
Kolkata won their last game against the Rajasthan Royals but lost five games in a row before that and now find themselves in a do-or-die situation. They will not only need to win all their remaining games, but also win them convincingly to take care of their net run rate.
Speaking to Sportskeeda on the show, 'SK Straight Talk', Harbhajan Singh elaborated on KKR's problems this season, saying:
"Kolkata had a lot of ups and downs in their season so far. They made too many changes and completely shook the team right from the top order to the middle-order. They tried everything but they need to win every game from here."
Kolkata will play their next game against an in-form Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) outfit on Saturday. Harbhajan Singh feels they will need to avoid leaking runs at the death if they are to put up a fight against Lucknow. On this, he said:
"If they beat a big team like Lucknow, it will boost their confidence. They played their last game well, but they still seem to be a bit edgy and patchy. They will need to improve their death bowling as it looks weak."
KL Rahul has done 70 percent of work for LSG: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh believes LSG are over-reliant on their skipper KL Rahul to score big in almost every game. Unsurprisingly, Rahul is the second-highest run-scorer in the IPL this season so far and also has a couple of centuries to his name.
Forward 🏹 https://t.co/hZk0zPU3c5
But whenever the opposition has dismissed Rahul early on, Lucknow have struggled to post huge totals or chase them down. Harbhajan Singh opined that the likes of Marcus Stoinis will need to step up and become more consistent with the bat, saying:
"Stoinis hasn't delivered quite as much as what was expected from him. They have played well as a unit, that's why they are where they are in the table. KL Rahul has done 70 percent of the team's work so far. If their other batters like Stoinis and Krunal score more runs, it will be great for them. But for now, the opposition know that if they dismiss Rahul early, they can put Lucknow under pressure."
It will indeed be a stiff task for KKR to overcome the hurdles of a well-oiled LSG machine.