'I think they can solve their puzzle' - Irfan Pathan has death bowling solutions for KKR

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made some important buys at the last month’s IPL 2022 mega auction. They decided to strengthen their pace attack by bringing back the likes of Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins, uncapped pacer Shivam Mavi, India Test specialist Umesh Yadav, and others. However, the franchise did not retain one of their lethal speedsters, Lockie Ferguson.

Meanwhile, former India pacer, Irfan Pathan, has come forward and explained how KKR can solve this jigsaw puzzle in the upcoming season when it comes to their death bowling options. In the previous edition, the two-time winners registered the most number of scalps at the death overs which was 46. During the second leg of the tournament in the UAE, Kolkata picked 29 wickets, which were once again the most of all teams at an economy rate of 8.28.

The question that needs to be asked about KKR is their death bowling: Irfan Pathan

“The question that needs to be asked about KKR is their death bowling and I think they can solve their puzzle by adding a couple of overs of Varun Chakravarthy at the death overs. It is a big call because you have Sunil Narine, whom you can actually bowl just after the powerplay, in the middle overs and, maybe, keep two overs for Varun, but also keep two overs for him in the death”, said Irfan while speaking on Star Sports show Game Plan.

“Then I think things become much easier. Shivam Mavi can bowl one over, Umesh Yadav can bowl one over. Maybe if Andre Russell is fit he can bowl two overs, but if you can find somewhere for Varun to bowl at the death it will look much better than what it is right now,” he added.

The Kolkata-based franchise will be led by India’s middle-order sensation, Shreyas Iyer, this time around. He had led the Delhi Capitals to the playoffs and the final at the 2019 and 2020 editions, respectively. Despite languishing at the seventh position after the first leg of IPL 2021, a determined KKR unit showcased some brilliant performances in the UAE leg and qualified for the finals, where they lost to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

A new-look KKR will be looking to go one step further this time. The former champions begin their IPL 2022 campaign against CSK in the curtain-raiser at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on March 26.