In a way, KKR’s hopes are dependent on the way batter Rinku Singh performs for them. He has been around for a long time now, and has come up with some great performances. But last year, he did not have the best of seasons, where he only managed to score 206 runs in 13 games, and Kolkata were poor in the entire tournament.
Rinku Singh’s dwindling IPL form
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has rightly raised form concerns on Rinku Singh. In fact, what really could add to KKR’s worry is the fact that the southpaw batter scored only 24 runs in 5 innings during the T20 World Cup. “We will have to see how much opportunity he gets to play. His 2023 season was outstanding. He scored 400-450 runs with a strike rate of 150. But after that, his performance dipped, and many times he did not get enough opportunities. He will have to maintain his standard and maximise the opportunities he gets,” Pathan said on his Youtube channel.
“Even in the World Cup, he played five matches, but he could not fully capitalise on the chances he got. This is another problem that Kolkata needs to rectify, and Rinku Singh is one of them,” he said. This, after a standout 2023 season, where he went on to score 474 runs in 14 innings.
Poor returns for Varun Chakravarthy?
Since then, he has played 22 innings and scored only 374 runs at an average of 23. In fact he hasn’t scored a single fifty in this tenure. Pathan also spoke about the declining form of Varun Chakravarthy. “The challenge is how to bring Varun back with confidence given his current dip in form. He will play 14 matches, some of which will be at Kolkata’s ground, and he has definitely performed well in this league before.
“With the good memories he has in Kolkata, perhaps in a slightly different atmosphere, he might perform even better. I believe he will manage it, so although this is a challenge, Varun Chakaravarthy will overcome it,” said Pathan. Last year in 14 matches, he went on to pick 17 wickets.
