Subhayan Chakraborty, Kolkata
Behind every great T20 franchise is a calm dressing room, and for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), that tranquillity flows directly from Director of Cricket and Head Coach, Kumar Sangakkara. Ahead of a marquee clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Sangakkara cut a composed figure, brushing off a recent stumble and throwing his unwavering weight behind the Royals’ young core.
Despite coming off a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sangakkara is far from hitting the panic button. Instead, he views the recent collapse – where the team found themselves five wickets down in a trice while chasing 217 – as a momentary blip, praising the resilience shown by the lower middle order.
“It’s one of those things that happen and you go like, ‘Oof, you know, how did that happen?’” Sangakkara admitted during the pre-match press conference. “But then you understand it and you move on from that… the good thing for us was our recovery from there onwards. Being five wickets down and getting to 160 with Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja batting. I thought that was a great recovery.”
While the Royals’ top order has been prolific, the spotlight has occasionally lingered on Riyan Parag’s search for a big score. However, addressing concerns about unlocking the team’s full batting potential, Sangakkara made it unequivocally clear that the management is entirely satisfied with Parag’s process.
“When I watch Riyan bat, he’s batting really well,” noted Sangakkara. “He’s hitting the ball off the middle, he knows where the balls are going, where he wants it to go.” Drawing on his own legendary career, he added, “I’ve been through this myself as a cricketer. You hit a good shot and suddenly, like, how did I get out doing that? Especially in the middle order for T20 cricket, you’re not looking at long innings, you’re looking at impact, and that’s something that Riyan can do really, really well. Riyan is ticking all the boxes perfectly.”
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the interaction came when discussing young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who suffered a golden duck in the previous outing.
“Failure is a very strong word when he had a first-ball duck,” Sangakkara countered smoothly. “My message to Vaibhav is he’s got to enjoy everything. Whether it’s a hundred off 35 balls, a fifty off 15, or a first-ball duck. You’re allowed to score runs, you’re allowed to fail.”
Emphasising the sheer volume of behind-the-scenes work the young opener puts in, the head coach stressed that the modern all-out attack mindset requires a specific psychological approach. “All I look at Vaibhav is I just want him to be this 15-year-old kid that goes out and bats with that wonderment that a kid has for this game. And that’s how he’s going to really kick on.”
While some are finding their feet, others are cementing their place. Dhruv Jurel has been a revelation, transforming from a bench player a few seasons ago into a vital, high-intent cog in the Royals’ machine. Sangakkara attributes this to a newfound mental clarity and a supportive ecosystem.
“He’s got a very clear idea of his path forward at RR, but also maybe for India,” observed Sangakkara. “And that’s freeing him up to find that freedom to play the way he plays best. Players that figure themselves out a little bit – not technique, but just themselves – they tend to improve really quickly… today I think now what’s clicked for him is he’s got clarity in position, he’s got clarity in terms of what’s expected of him.”
Looking ahead to the match-up against KKR, Sangakkara dismissed any complacency that might stem from Kolkata’s five losses from six games.
“We don’t take any side easy,” he said. “Records don’t matter for anything when you play head-to-head, and we expect it to be a tough game.”
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