Not taking KKR lightly, says GT Director of Cricket Solanki

Even while waiting for just one win to seal its place in the play-offs, Gujarat Titans (GT) is not taking Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lightly ahead of their Saturday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) engagement at the Eden Gardens here.

GT’s Director of Cricket, Vikram Solanki, said his team had a lot of respect for the host. “KKR have had their injury issues. The fact is that out of the last five matches they have won four, so they are obviously playing good cricket. We must respect that,” Solanki said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.

Responding to a question about GT middle order batters’ contributions, Solanki said, “Our bowlers have bowled well and the top order has played well at times. Washington Sunder has played exceptional innings. In the last match, he made a valuable contribution as did Nishant Sindhu. Rahul Tewatia has shown signs of finding boundaries towards the end. It’s a bit of generalisation to suggest that the middle order is not playing its part. Of course, not all members of the team will be contributing at the same time.”

About Jason Holder’s role, Solanki said, “Jason has done a great job, particularly with the ball. He has maintained that sort of pressure…very skilfully but also with a lot of experience in a calm sense. Jason understands his game very well. He’s somebody who brings all that experience whether it be with the ball, whether it be just his presence and speaking to people around the team or if he gets the opportunity to bat as well.”

According to KKR pacer Kartik Tyagi, his team has been focusing on playing its remaining three matches well without thinking about its slim chances of qualification. “We are focusing on how we have to play against which opponent,” said Tyagi.