Former India player Mohammad Kaif claimed that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needed to groom star batter Rinku Singh as their future captain. Nevertheless, he has been a very important a part of the team for the previous few seasons. The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season will probably be his eighth 12 months with the team as well.
He also shared that Rinku has the potential to guide the KKR team. He also added his stunning record in domestic cricket.
Kaif added in his latest YouTube video: “KKR should groom Rinku Singh as a future captain. Rinku Singh is an all-format player. Although he is just not a part of the Test team, he can bat well in all formats. I come from UP and I do know what he does for UP. Numerous batters rating runs, but his runs are available winning cause. So, that guy is prepared and captains UP.”
“He has the mental strength to handle captaincy and batting together. They’ve a man who is prepared. Now it stays to be seen if they provide him the captaincy after Rahane, do it mid-season, or make him the vice-captain. Just get him in the combo, it would be a long-term investment for KKR,” he again shared.
“Even that decision was taken very late. Rahane was picked towards the top of the auction, which implies he was not within the plans for captaincy. It felt like they were searching for a future captain once they spent ₹23-24 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. But they later went with Rahane due to his captaincy experience,” he further added.
“He must work on his power-hitting down the bottom” – Mohammad Kaif on Ajinkya Rahane
Mohammad Kaif also shared concerns over veteran Ajinkya Rahane’s spin issues. He also shared that the batter needs so as to add a number of shots to his game as a substitute of depending on the slog sweep only. He also shared that Rahane should learn from the legend Virat Kohli, who has improved his game against spinners recently as well.
“Virat Kohli was in an identical situation. His strike rate was happening against spinners. He shut everyone’s mouth by attacking the spinners and inventing recent shots. Rahane just has the slog sweep against spinners. He must work on his power-hitting down the bottom. He has to extend his range of shots against spinners, as Virat Kohli has done. Virat Kohli has set an incredible example for everybody, and Rahane can even learn from it,” he said again.
“Rahane got the team off to good starts within the last season. Should you see the whole season, he scored around 30-40 in every match, but he didn’t have a single Man of the Match award. So, that query mark remains to be there with Rahane. 30s and 40s are wonderful, but he gets out as soon because the spinners are available,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.
Get the newest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.