The ex all-rounder of West Indies, Dwayne Bravo, who is now the mentor of current champions Kolkata Knight Riders defended the strategy of the team, “going all out,” for the Venkatesh Iyer in order to keep the “core” of the IPL championship winning side. While he is considered as one of the captaincy candidates for KKR, the acquisition has raised questions about why he wasn’t retained if leadership was included in the brainstorming team thinktank. Bravo, a four-time IPL winner at Chennai Super Kings, said, “Getting Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) was one of our priorities for us, as you could see, we went all out for him.”
“We have almost 90% of players from the championship-winning team, which in itself is a good sign.
“It’s important to keep your core because when you have to build from scratch, it becomes complicated to make combinations and all.” “Started the planning while I was still in Trinidad. We came with a proper plan, the players we wanted to target,” added Bravo who would be in charge of all the franchises of the Knight Riders brand in T20 leagues.
The 29-year-old Madhya Pradesh all-rounder, who has donned the Indian colors in nine T20 Internationals and two ODIs, became the third expensive player at the two-day IPL mega auction concluded here Monday, at a whopping Rs 23.75 crore.
The only ones ahead in the richest player list were Rishabh Pant (Lucknow, Rs 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (Punjab, Rs 26.75 crore). Venkatesh also outdid experienced Indian batter KL Rahul, a former Lucknow Super Giants captain, who was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 14 crore.
Bravo hears that KKR has also roped in fiery pacer Umran Malik:
“The pace operated by him, I have always admired — his work ethic, energy, and all. Very happy that we could be nailing him down. The way the retention rules were set up, the RTM rules, salary caps, marquee players, and a two-day auction — this was definitely more demanding, for sure. Quite nerve-wracking because of the nuances.” The think tank’s unanimous view was to maintain the structure, which we have done. In certain areas, we have also improved and upgraded. Hopefully, it will continue to work well.”.
“Rovman Powell, over the years, we have seen what he has done in the CPL, other leagues, and, of course, the IPL as well. He is very experienced – the captaincy of West Indies gives him such experience in leadership: that experience of captaincy and everything he has done – all that put together makes him really, really special. Pretty great to have him on the side.” KKR CEO and MD Venky Mysore added: “The pace at which he operates, I always admire him — his work ethic, energy and all. Happy that we’re able to nail him down.”
