IPL 2022: Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen reckons Kolkata Knight Riders are too good a team to be languishing at the bottom half of the points table in the IPL 2022.
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen reckons Kolkata Knight Riders are too good a team to be languishing at the bottom half of the points table in the IPL 2022. The Shreyas Iyer-led side started the 15th edition of IPL with promise but its form tapered down as the tournament progressed. The runner-ups of the previous season haven’t been able to live up to the expectations as they lost five games on the trot midway through the season. While analysing KKR’s slide and flip-flop show in the IPL 2022, Pietersen blamed the constant chopping and changing in the playing eleven.
Speaking on ‘Cricket Live’ on Star Sports, Pietersen said: “Too much of chopping and changing has been a reason for KKR’s dismal show because the players think it’s their last game and they’ve got to perform or they might be out. I don’t think this is the right way to go in this format of the game.”
“This format is about building the players up, giving them the confidence and helping them feel like the team they’re involved in, the brand they are associated with, and the band they’re playing for are committed. The players want to feel like they have the commitment, they need to feel like they can give that commitment and I don’t think you give that commitment if there is too much chopping and changing,” he added.
Lucknow Super Giants have been a team to beat this season but the KL Rahul-led side has still not booked the playoffs berth after suffering two consecutive defeats.
Talking about LSG’s back-to-back defeats and their current form Pietersen said the teams cannot afford to get complacent at the business end of the tournament and LSG should look to get those two crucial points and book the playoff berth.
Pietersen added: “It’s serious business now. You can feel as good as you can in the four or five weeks of this tournament but you can feel down in the dumps if you play poorly now at the business end of the tournament. So the guys at the top of the table like Lucknow want to get those two crucial points against Kolkata Knight Riders and secure their playoffs berth.”
As the dusk looms on the group stages of IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday to kick off the final round of the league fixtures.
The pecking order of the IPL is very precariously placed and barring Gujarat Titans, any team can be knocked out at the moment, and even the team with the slightest chance of making the playoffs can be a part of the eliminator and qualifier.
