IPL 2023 Auction: Shardul Thakur Will Fill More The Role Of Pat Cummins – Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India National Cricket Team player Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Shardul Thakur will fill the role of Pat Cummins in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) playing XI in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

Australia National Cricket Team Test and ODI captain, Pat Cummins, was bought by the two-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, for INR 7.25 crore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction.

He announced that he will skip the next edition of the IPL due to a packed international calendar and as a result, the Kolkata-based franchise needed a player like him, who can be a wicket-taker and a lower-order batter, so they decided to acquire Shardul via trade from Delhi Capitals.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar shared his viewpoints on KKR’s retention strategy. He said:

“With spin, they are fairly well settled. I think Shardul Thakur will fill more the role of Pat Cummins because there is the batting element of Shardul Thakur. I have a theory, if Shardul Thakur doesn’t play all cricket that India plays, he will be a much better IPL bowler. If that happens, KKR get more out of Shardul Thakur.”

He further talked about the batting unit of the Kolkata Knight Riders and said:

“There is firepower in the middle. Shreyas Iyer will bat at No. 4 or No. 3. There is Andre Russell. Nitish Rana is a class player. They will sorely miss Rahul Tripathi, which happened. So I think No. 1 and No. 2 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz if he shows the kind of form he showed in the Asia Cup, he becomes a dangerous player.”

I am looking forward to Chandrakant Pandit – Sanjay Manjrekar

The highly successful domestic cricket coach Chandrakant Pandit was appointed as the head coach of the Knight Riders after the exit of Brendon McCullum.

Meanwhile, former India National Cricket Team player Sanjay Manjrekar is eager to see how will Pandit approach things in his first season with KKR in IPL 2023. He said:

“In the end, my big interesting point is that I am looking forward to Chandrakant Pandit. What a choice, it’s a wildcard that they have played. I don’t know how much power he will have to carry on with the way he does at the Ranji Trophy level. So that’s going to be a very, very intriguing factor in KKR’s performance.”

Former Australia National Cricket Team all-rounder Tom Moody also shared his views on Pat Cummins pulling out of the IPL 2023. He said:

“I think he has cited the busy calendar that Australia faces in 2023. He didn’t want to let himself down or let the franchise down. So I think he has done the right thing in showing his hand. Lockie Ferguson – that is an excellent replacement.”

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