IPL 2020: Ajit Agarkar Hopes For Kolkata Knight Riders To Play Better And Consistently Moving Forward

Former Indian paceman Ajit Agarkar has opened up on Kolkata Knight Riders’ performance in IPL 2020. Kolkata Knight Riders could not reach the playoffs for the second successive time despite their best efforts and a plethora of T20 specialists in their repertoire. Ajit Agarkar, who once played for the franchise, underlined that something was not quite right in the camp.

Kolkata Knight Riders were inconsistent throughout the tournament, winning seven out of 14 games. The two-time champions underwent a change of captaincy midway through the season as Eoin Morgan replaced Dinesh Karthik. It was not enough and neither was their crushing victory against the Rajasthan Royals in their last league match. The Knight Riders needed SunRisers Hyderabad to lose their league fixture to ensure their playoff spot, which did not happen.

Ajit Agarkar underlined that Chennai Super Kings was one of the teams that needed restructuring; however, wants Kolkata Knight Riders to play consistently and better. Agarkar highlighted that they have plenty of T20 specialists and match-winners and were in better positions throughout the tournament. Keeping in mind, the franchise changed their skipper midway; the Mumbai pacer sensed something was wrong within the camp.

“I think there are couple of teams, CSK certainly need a little bit of restructuring. But the one team I hope plays better or plays a bit more consistently is KKR. I think they certainly have a lot of match-winners in them or T20 specialists if you like, they should be doing a lot better. They were in better positions, changed the captain for some reason midway through. You could see that there was something not right in the camp,” Agarkar told in the Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

“It came back to bite them” : Ajit Agarkar

The 42-year old recalled the leadership changing hands earlier within Kolkata Knight Riders despite which they reached the playoffs; however, this time it wasn’t to be. Ajit Agarkar believes that it is challenging to remain consistent in the T20 format; yet, the Knight Riders have a team that can do well. He wants the franchise to sort those issues and be patient with whoever the captain is moving forward.

“I think it has happened before as well and somehow they scraped through to the playoffs but this time it didn’t happen. It came back to bite them. The T20 format is very difficult to be consistent but they have got far too good a team to be that. So I hope they get those things right, especially get the leadership right, whoever it is, and stick to it during the course of the season,” he added.

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