KKR may push Russell up the order: McCullum

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) may consider pushing Andre Russell up the batting order strategically in some matches, head coach Brendon McCullum said on Saturday.

The former New Zealand captain said he is happy with the flexibility the squad has got. “The thing we want to pride ourselves is being a really smart team and utilising resources based on the match-ups. Andre Russell hit 54 sixes [52], I think, last year,” said McCullum in a pre-season press conference.

“His game is suited to last 10 overs of a T20 game where he can really control. But there may be times when the match-ups are right, we can get Andre come in up the order. But that will be a horses for courses type of approach. The good thing is we have a lot of resources to choose from,” he said.

McCullum said the addition of England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan gives them a strong middle order this season.

‘SEAMERS WILL DO WELL EARLY ON’: Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals (DC) coach Ricky Ponting said on Saturday that seam bowlers could make a significant impact in the early stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the warm conditions of the UAE.

Slow bowlers and spinners have been widely expected to take centre stage due to the conditions traditionally on offer in the UAE. And Ponting expects the wickets to slow down as the tournament goes on. “I think the conditions might change quite a bit through the tournament with only three venues being used,” Ponting said in a virtual press conference.

“Here in Dubai, we have 24 games. Speaking to the groundsman the other day, he has only four wickets that he can use so he’s going to have five or more games on each pitch. So, we trained at the main ground a couple of days ago, there was a lot of green grass on the wicket. But I think by the time the game comes around tomorrow, there might be a little bit of that grass cut out,” he said.

“But I think in the initial bit of the tournament, we’ll see the seam bowlers having an impact but as the tournament goes on the wickets will slow down and probably start to spin a lot more,” he felt.

Ponting, however, said that the team would get a better idea of the conditions only when they start playing. DC’s first match is against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.

“That’s been our reading of the conditions so far, but we’ll get a better idea once we get to the ground tomorrow. But I’m expecting that certainly in the first part there won’t be a lot of spin on offer, certainly in Dubai, anyway,” he said.

BCCI-ECB INK MoU, HOSTING DEAL: Meanwhile, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) have signed an MoU and hosting agreement to boost cricketing ties between the two countries.

“I along with Vice Chairman of Emirates Cricket Board Khalid Al Zarooni signed an MoU & hosting agreement between BCCI and Emirates Cricket to boost the cricketing ties between our countries,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a tweet on Saturday.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Treasurer Arun Dhumal were present on the occasion, he added.

Indo-Asian News Service