KKR's strong spin attack will propel them to win IPL 2017, says Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan joined his side Kolkata Knight Riders in Rajkot for their fixture against Gujrat Lions. Shakib, who has been a quintessential member of the Kolkata side since he was picked up in the 2011 IPL auction, missed the match due to national duties.

Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20. Mashrafee Mortaza played his final T20 match wearing the Bangladesh jersey. Shakib went ahead to say that it was a touching day for all the Bangladeshis to see the back of Mortaza.

“It was very emotional day for all of us. Mashrafe is no doubt a huge figure in Bangladesh cricket. Naturally, his retirement from T-20 international had made all of us very nostalgic.” said Shakib. However, prior to his first match for the franchise this season, Shakib predicted that the Knight Riders are one of the leading contenders for this edition of the IPL with the kind of attack in batting and bowling.

“We are the most balanced side this season. If you look at bowling, batting a well as towards the fielding potential we are the front runners in the race for the title. More importantly, being in the runs against Sri Lanka in the team’s last match has increased my confidence to play important role in the IPL also.” as quoted as saying by oneindia.com. After being questioned about the credibility of spin attack in KKR rank given the green top in Eden Garden, Shakib stated that the spinners have the capability to decimate the opposition with only little assistance from the pitch.

“It might be. But at the same time, I do not feel that our spinners will not at all get support from the pitch. So, if they get little help from the pitch, they will simply destroy the opponents.” said the all-rounder from Bangladesh.