Kolkata Knight Riders give Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and three others break to find rhythm

Kolkata Knight Riders’ season is fast coming off the track with each passing day. Not many would have predicted that the two-time winners would be struggling to even win a game with the way they started their season. Kolkata Knight Riders began their campaign by thrashing last year’s finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad and went on to win the four of the first five games. However, it was not at all the pointer of their journey ahead.

They soon fell off the track and are now in danger of missing out on a playoff spot. The Kolkata-based franchise has lost five games in a row and is languishing at a lowly sixth in the points table. With only 4 wins in ten games, the Knight Riders need to win all of their remaining four games in the league to stand a chance of progressing ahead. And as the team gears up to fight its way back to the winning ways, the franchise has taken a big and interesting decision.

Kolkata Knight Riders have released skipper Dinesh Karthik and senior batsman Robin Uthappa so that the two senior stars could spend some time away from hustle and bustle of cricket and find their rhythm back. The two have decided to travel to Mumbai in order to train under the watchful eyes of Knight Riders mentor Abhishek Nayar. Along with Karthik and Uthappa, Knight Riders have also allowed wicketkeeper Nikhil Naik and pacers Shrikant Mundhe and Prithvi Raj to take a break.

Uthappa and Karthik’s disappointing show

Both Uthappa and Karthik have struggled to bat as per their reputation which is one of the reasons behind Kolkata Knight Riders’ mid-season crisis this year.  Karthik has scored only 117 runs in 10 games at an average of 16.71 with one fifty. On the other hand, Uthappa has scored 220 runs in nine innings at 31.42 with a solitary half-century. In fact, Uthappa was dropped from the playing eleven for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad after his poor display against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Naik and Raj have played a match each and Mundhe is yet to make his debut this season. Kolkata Knight Riders’ next game is against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday (April 25).

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