IPL 2020: ‘Embrace the challenge of playing against Virat Kohli,’ Kyle Mills' message to KKR youngsters

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Kyle Mills said that he would be advising young fast bowlers of KKR to embrace the challenge of bowling to Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli and not be intimidated by it.

In an interview with ANI, Mills called Virat Kohli the best cricketer in the world and said that youngsters Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti would be presented with a great opportunity to make a statement should they fare well against the Indian captain.

“Embrace the challenge of playing against Virat Kohli, that would be the message from me to young guys like Nagarkoti and Mavi in the group. Kohli is the best cricketer in the world, he is amazing to watch. He certainly leads by example off the park as well. For our young bowlers, they can make a statement,” the former Kiwi pacer said.

Pace ⚡Swing 💫Accuracy 💯@ShivamMavi23 is all geared up to take #Dream11IPL by 🌪️#KKR #HaiTaiyaar pic.twitter.com/bdtcS8f2Ra

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 15, 2020

KKR has a very young yet varied bowling attack

Left to Right: Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sandeep Warrier, Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Image Credits: Kyro Sports)

Mills, who picked up 327 wickets in his international career, said that IPL 2020 will be fascinating to watch if young bowlers take the attack to established stars like Virat Kohli.

“Young cricketers who are on the rise, they have a great opportunity to make a statement, if they embrace the challenge and don’t run away from it, this would be fascinating to watch over the course of the next eight weeks,” Mills added.

Apart from 20-year-old Nagarkoti and 21-year-old Mavi, KKR has names such as Prasidh Krishna and Sandeep Warrier. Among uncapped spinners, they have got Manimaran Siddharth and Varun Chakravarthy.

Interestingly, KKR all-rounder Nitish Rana sprung a surprise in IPL 2018 by dismissing Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers off successive deliveries.

Check IPL 2020 Schedule

It’d be intriguing to see if the side's relatively young attack can indeed embrace the challenge of bowling to big-hitters and, in turn, provide good support to experienced international performers like Pat Cummins, Andre Russell and Kuldeep Yadav.

If they succeed in doing so, KKR will definitely be one of the favorites to lift their third IPL trophy.