IPL 2018: My Role Will Be to Bridge Communication Gap Between Players - Abhishek Nayar

Abhishek Nayar, the newly appointed mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, has said his role in the team will be to bridge the communication gap between players,

“I will be working with the younger guys to kind of bridge the gap between them and the foreign players. My role will be to make them comfortable and ensure there is no communication gap. I think the franchise needed someone just to counsel the younger guys and help them tackle pressure. All in all, just look after them,” he told Sportstar.

Abhishek Nayar, a veteran of 99 first-class games, was roped in by the two-time IPL champion team as its mentor. The decision came as a surprise, as he is still an active player and looks like he might go onto play a few more seasons for Mumbai as well.

It looks like it was on Dinesh Karthik’s – captain of KKR – advice on which the team might have roped in Nayar. Abhishek worked with Karthik to work on different aspects when he was out of the team.

Karthik just did not go on to make a comeback but has also become an important member of the Indian team. After he hit a six in the finals of Nidahas Trophy on the last ball of the game, he credited Nayar for his success, and he (Nayar) received much limelight.

The veteran player is all set to share his experience with Kolkata Knight Riders’ players. However, still, there is no clarity over the role of Abhishek. Being an all-rounder, he can also work with bowlers and batsmen. From outside, it looks like he will play multiple roles in the team.

Meanwhile, KKR has lost two out of three games they have played till now. The team had a great start when it defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore in its first game of the season.

KKR faced Chennai Super Kings in the next contest and suffered a defeat in a high scoring contest. In the third game, KKR could just manage 138 runs, and Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the game.

Kolkata Knight Riders now face Delhi Daredevils in their next contest tomorrow (April 16) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Abhishek Nayar will join the squad before team’s next tie.

Squad: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Tom Curran, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorav Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi.