KKR’s top three – Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, and Rahul Tripathi – have scored a combined 520 runs in seven matches but are scoring too slowly for their head coach’s liking
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum has threatened to make changes to his top order, describing their performances in recent matches as "disappointing."
Top order trio Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, and Rahul Tripathi have scored a combined 520 runs in the seven appearances to date but are scoring too slowly for McCullum’s liking, with Tripathi’s strike rate of 135.5 the highest of the three.
In KKR’s most recent outing against Delhi Capitals, Rana, Gill and Tripathi scored 77 off 67 balls, leaving Andre Russell – batting at number six – to rescue the innings with 45 from 27 deliveries. The West Indian has a strike rate of 155.23 for the tournament while Dinesh Karthik (138.2) and Pat Cummins (166.07) have also been heavy relied on in the middle order.
KKR are currently sixth in the table having won just two of their opening seven matches.
Commenting on his side’s batting against Delhi, McCullum said: "It's very, very disappointing. I think as a player, you ask to be given freedom and confidence and loyalty when it comes to selection, to go out there and take the game on and try and be aggressive... and to try and make things happen for your team.
"That's the style of play which both myself and the captain [Eoin Morgan] have asked of our players. But unfortunately, we're not quite getting that. We're certainly not getting it in the abundance that we need.
"You're not always going to be able to hit every ball for four or six, but you can have the intent to do so, particularly when you're given a free licence. It's very difficult if you don't play shots to score runs, and unfortunately tonight we didn't play enough shots. It's become a bit of a theme.
"A saying that I've used throughout my career is that 'If you can't change a man, change the man.' So we'll probably have to make some changes and try and bring in some fresh personnel who will hopefully take the game on a bit more."
McCullum pinpointed his side’s mindset as an issue, continuing: "On a slow surface you've really got to maximise the new ball and the fielding restrictions. One thing we have to get our heads around is that in T20 cricket, you've got to part from the old-school mentality of trying to find a boundary and then get a one. You've got to try and put some pressure back on the opposition bowlers.
"If you get a boundary, then look for another, and then look for another one. If you're able to do that, then the opposition bowler is under an immense amount of pressure and normally what happens then is they don't execute. Then you can have big overs, and that allows you to be able to build into an innings, create those partnerships and those sizeable platforms.
"It's incredibly disappointing because I've asked time and time again for us to be more aggressive and more expressive and take the game on, and we continue to not do it. So, we're going to have to make some changes for sure."
Kolkata Knight Riders' next match is against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 3.
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