Sunil Gavaskar suggests changing the opening partnership entirely for betterment of KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders might have won against the Kings XI Punjab yesterday but it only came after a series of embarrassing defeats earlier in this year’s Indian Premier League 2021. This is only the second time in the entire tournament that the team registered a victory. 

On Monday, Knight Riders finally tasted victory in Ahmedabad by a five wicket margin and all thanks for this victory goes to the captain Eoin Morgan. But this victory is nothing in comparison to the losses it suffered especially when we talk about the opening pair. 

Legendary cricketer and commentator, Sunil Gavaskar also had his share of views in this regard as he said that Shubahm Gill is not being able to deliver and hence it might be time to change the opening partnership entirely. The opening combination of Nitish Rana and Shubham Gill have failed to impress with their skills and provide KKR a good start in the IPL 2021. 

According to Gavaskar, there are high chances of winning or getting a good partnership if Sunil Narine and Rahul Tripathi open for the team. Tripathi and Gill have opened for the team in six of the matches but have failed to put up a strong partnership on scoreboard to lead the team. 

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Rana has somehow managed to not be disappointing with his bat but Gill is the one suffering big time. The talented youngster has been unable to contribute to the team and the highest he could manage was 33. The most disappointing part was him not being able to hit boundaries even during the powerplay. 

KKR deeply relied on the form of Shubham Gill after last season but he has not been living upto the expectations this year. Rahul Tripathi on the other hand has been immensely consistent, at least the most consistent in this team. 

Gavaskar said that Rana made a strong hold on the team after staying in it for years while in the case of Tripathi, he has made a name for himself in the shortest format as an opener. He emphasized that this could be a deciding factor in swapping their positions. 

He further added, “Nitish Rana, in the years that he has been very successful for KKR, he has been batting at No.3. So, if Rahul Tripathi can open the batting, which he used to do earlier on for the other franchises, maybe that’s the way to go for him.”

Tripathi can be supported by Narine, who is struggling in the middle order having no one to rely on. Having said that, Gavaskar added that the only factor working for KKR is the form of Eoin Morgan. The English player scored an unbeaten 47 off 40 balls that helped KKR reach the 124-run target inside 17 overs.