In a major blow to Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) qualification expect, their highest wicket-taker this season, Umesh Yadav, has experienced a calf injury. As a result, he will miss out on the playing XI for Saturday’s TATA IPL 2022 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Pune.
Knight Riders’ skipper Shreyas Iyer told this information at the toss, suggesting that the injury occurred in the final stages of their game against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. He also called youngster Harshit Rana as the replacement.
“We’ve just got one change. Unfortunately, Umesh pulled his calf muscles at the end so Harshit Rana comes in for him.”
The two times champions are placed 8th in the points table. Critics have pointed to their continuous team changes and selection discrepancies as one of the reasons for their fluctuating performance.
Skipper Iyer acknowledged that he would’ve liked a more settled team but added that many injuries hadn’t permitted him that luxury.
“See, it’s really important as a captain to have a great combination right from the start, but you know, there are so many injuries and niggles that keep happening because it’s such a big tournament and you have to keep chopping and changing every now and then. But that’s part and parcel of the game.”
Just 1⃣ change in our Playing 11 tonight as Harshit Rana comes in for Umesh Yadav.#KKRHaiTaiyaar #LSGvKKR #IPL2022
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 7, 2022
Umesh Yadav has been the Kolkata Knight Riders’ best bowler this season with 15 wickets from 10 games at an average of 19.07 – his personal best in the TATA IPL 2022. 20-year-old Harshit Rana did well (1/24) on his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals(DC). But he doesn’t have the knowledge to fill the senior pacer’s shoes just yet.
Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI in the absence of Umesh Yadav
One forced change in our Playing XI!
Harshit Rana comes in for Umesh.@winzoofficial #KKRHaiTaiyaar #LSGvKKR #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/AXzl274MtZ
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 7, 2022
Playing XI: Aaron Finch, Baba Indrajith (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, and Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine.
Also read- “I didn’t have any way to training before last year’s IPL session” – Riyan Parag.