IPL-17: I’m terrible at reading pitches, says Rajasthan Royals’ Kumar Sangakkara
The Hindu
Kumar Sangakkara praises pitch at Rajasthan Royals' 'adopted home' ahead of IPL clash with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals’ Director of Cricket, feels that the track at his side’s ‘adopted home’ here is better than it seemed during the previous fixture against Punjab Kings.
On the eve of Indian Premier League’s last league game against table-topper Kolkata Knight Riders at the Barsapara Stadium, Sangakkara said: “I’m terrible at reading pitches. I leave that up to the curators, who know more than I do. I thought the last track was very good. Both sides did not bat as well as they would have wanted, especially us. I think we could have got 170-180, comfortably, so it’s not the fault of the pitch really.”
Both PBKS and RR representatives, Nathan Ellis and Shane Bond respectively, had remarked that the wicket had behaved slower than expected at the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, KKR management has decided to keep its cards close to its chest regarding the potential replacement of wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who’s returned to England on national duty.
Batter Ramandeep Singh said: “He has been an integral part of the campaign. I am sure whoever replaces him will also do well because all of us have been putting in the hard yards. The eleven will be announced at the toss tomorrow.”
He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.