25 April,2019 08:34 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit N Joshi
Dinesh Karthik
Kolkata Knight Riders' practice session at the Eden Gardens yesterday, on the eve of their match against Rajasthan Royals, may have seemed like an optional training session, with head coach Jacques Kallis monitoring the likes of Andre Russell and a few of the other foreign players in Kolkata, while the rest of the bunch were absent.
However, it wasn't so as the rest of the group were simultaneously training in Thane under KKR's academy coach Abhishek Nayar. Nayar conducted a one-and-a-half day training session at Thane's Dadoji Konddev Stadium with a bunch of KKR's Indian players that included skipper Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Robin Uthappa, Shubhman Gill and Nitish Rana, among others. It is learnt that Karthik & Co, around 10 of them, flew to Mumbai after their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 21. The idea was to try and restore the confidence in some of the players who are not performing.
KKR began IPL-12 with a bang, winning four of their first five matches, but then lost their next five matches. This has left them in a precarious position as far as making the playoffs are concerned with just four games remaining.
It is learnt that Nayar opted to train this KKR group at this particular Thane venue as he was impressed by the pitch and other facilities at the recently refurbished venue.
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On Tuesday, Karthik & Co practised from 9.30 am till 5pm. Yesterday, on the eve of their IPL match against RR, they practised till late afternoon before leaving for Kolkata. "The players left for the airport from the Thane stadium itself," the stadium's curator Nadim Memon told mid-day.
The group focused largely on match simulation, it is learnt. "They practised under various match situations like needing 30 runs in 12 balls. The bowlers were also given different tasks. Chinaman Kuldeep [Yadav] in particular bowled brilliantly, while their batsmen came up with some big, clean hits too," added Memon.
Also Read: IPL 2019: KKR not considering sacking Karthik, says Coach Jacques Kallis
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