"He's got at least 5 to 10 years of international cricket left in him" - KKR mentor David Hussey backs Ajinkya Rahane

Quashing concerns over Ajinkya Rahane's slump in form, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) chief mentor David Hussey opined that the veteran batter will be around in international cricket for at least five years. He further lauded Rahane's leadership qualities and calming influence on young guns.

As Cheteshwar Pujara went unsold, the Kolkata-based outfit buying Rahane for his base price of INR 1 crore raised quite a few eyebrows. The 33-year-old is going through a lean patch that has resulted in his ousting from the Indian team as well. David Hussey threw his weight behind him, though, underlining his presence both on and off the field.

“Rahane is a class player. He’s been a class player for over a decade for Indian cricket; he’s dominated for the Rajasthan Royals. I think he’s got at least 5 to 10 years of international cricket left in him. He’s a class player. He might not have scored the runs he wants to recently, but the way he is training and the way he works on his game, he’s going to score his runs, he’s going to dominate in the IPL. But also, he’s a leader amongst the group as well. So not just on-field performances, but off-field, helping all the youngsters sort of gel. He’s just a quality human being and I am happy that he’s part of our team,” he said in KKR’s pre-season press conference.

Rahane might even open the innings with Venkatesh Iyer. Other options include Aaron Finch, who will miss the initial matches owing to national duty, and Sam Billings. Without giving away too much, David Hussey said all four of them are in line to man the powerplay overs.

“All of them, we can have anyone that opens the batting in T20 cricket. Sam’s done it before for England and in his previous teams. Venkatesh Iyer, I am hoping he opens the batting because he set the IPL alight and he was the big catalyst the way we turned around our season after the pause of last year’s IPL. Not only he is a class player but a class human, he always plays for the team and I am just so happy that he is with us for a very long time,” Hussey, who played for KKR from 2008 to 2010, stated.

Captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Brendon McCullum can even punt on Sunil Narine to get the team off to a blazing start. The all-rounder played that role to perfection for a good two seasons before oppositions started spotting the chink in his armor - short-pitched stuff.

Asked if KKR are considering reinstating Narine as an opener, David Hussey said the “genuine all-rounder” can bat at any position while bearing in mind the game situation.

“It’s a strange one, because he’s done quite well opening, he’s done well in the middle, he’s done well at the end. So he’s one of those players, an enigma really. If the game’s not going on our terms, Brendon might implement him as a pinch-hitter, like he did it against Delhi last year. With about 40 needed off about 20 balls, he ended up winning us the game. He’s turned into a genuine all-rounder now, so he can bat anywhere in the list and I am just happy that he’s with KKR team because he does it well,” Hussey said in response to a Sportskeeda query.

KKR will play the tournament opener against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Saturday (March 26) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

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“They miss the first five games” – David Hussey

KKR will be without the services of Aaron Finch (L) and Pat Cummins (R) in the first two weeks

KKR will be crippled initially due to the unavailability of two of their marquee players. Both Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch will be in Pakistan for Australia’s first tour of the country in 24 years. While Cummins won’t partake in the white-ball leg – the Test series ends on Friday – Cricket Australia (CA) has granted a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) in effect from April 6.

David Hussey confirmed both will miss KKR’s first five matches while backing their decision to prioritize international cricket. Finch was named as a replacement for English opener Alex Hales, who withdrew citing bubble fatigue.

“It is a concern, you want your best players available of course. But international cricket should be the priority, every cricketer should want to play international cricket for their countries and they’ve got commitments in that way. I think they miss the first five games, but they will be cricket-ready, cricket-fit once they hit the ground running. Both quality people, they’ll fit into the dressing room really, really well and hopefully they come and perform and play to our game plans and entertain because that’s what the game is all about,” he concluded.

KKR’s fifth encounter is against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 10. They have the likes of Tim Southee, Chamika Karunaratne and Mohammad Nabi to fill in until then.