Written by Vaibhav Tripathi
Yusuf Pathan, a former Indian cricketer who played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has suggested that KKR should look for other options beyond Sunil Narine and Andre Russell if they want to build for the future. According to Pathan, their age might not be the only factor contributing to KKR’s poor performance, and he is struggling to find the answer to their slump. Narine and Russell have been vital members of the KKR squad for many IPL seasons and have played an instrumental role in their two championship wins with their match-winning performances.
“We should see how Narine and Russell have performed in the last three years, or how many match-winning performances they have put in with bat or ball. As a team, what do you think? If you want to look ahead to the future and go to the next level, then you should surely think about it, because if you look at the last few seasons, their performance hasn’t been as good,” Yusuf Pathan said on ESPNcricinfo’s show T20 Time: Out Hindi.
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“I don’t think age should be a factor, because there are others of similar age who are still playing and are performing well too. I am not able to figure out what is going wrong. These two are your match-winners, and when your match-winners don’t perform, your team struggles. Perhaps fatigue could be a reason as they play the entire year. Having said that, everyone wants and expects them to do well,” Pathan added.