IPL 2024 | "Whether its Ranji or IPL, everyone wants to beat Mumbai": Nayar

KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar (right) and MI batter Suryakumar Yadav at Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Though Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are enjoying the second spot with 12 points after nine games, the team's assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar admitted that his team are still not safe with five games left.

"Just in terms of points, we have seen teams that have been at the bottom of the table doing really well against the table-toppers. It's very hard to say this is going to be safe and this is enough. I think the more the merrier for any team," Nayar said during the pre-match press conference at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Will Rinku Singh be able to put on a show vs MI at Wankhede?

However, Nayar, who has led Mumbai in first-class cricket, added that every team want to beat the hosts at Wankhede. "Whether it is Ranji Trophy or the IPL, everyone wants to beat Mumbai," Nayar remarked.

Nayar, meanwhile, lavished praise on KKR skipper Shreyar Iyer, who was not considered in the Rohit Sharma-led Team India for the upcoming T20 World Cup. "His [Iyer] mindset is to score runs, whether he plays the IPL, the Ranji Trophy or for India. It [the T20 World Cup snub] has affected him, but kudos to him for the way he has handled it. I can imagine a lot of people are reacting very differently than he has.

"He is one of the mentally strongest people I have ever known, just in terms of how he has accepted certain things that have happened with him," Nayar said.