IPL 2020: 'You could see that there was something not right in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp' - Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has pointed out that the problems in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp were clearly evident in IPL 2020, which ultimately contributed to their ouster before the playoff stage of the tournament.

He made this observation during a discussion in a recent edition of the Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Ajit Agarkar was asked if any IPL franchise requires a different approach or restructuring before the next edition of the IPL, which is just a few months away. He responded that the Chennai Super Kings is definitely one of the franchises requiring an overhaul.

"I think there are couple of teams, CSK certainly need a little bit of restructuring."

The Mumbaikar was quick to add that the Kolkata Knight Riders needs to be more consistent with their performances, considering the multitude of match-winners that ply their trade for them.

"But the one team I hope plays better or plays a bit more consistently is KKR. I think they certainly have a lot of match-winners in them or T20 specialists if you like, they should be doing a lot better."

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Ajit Agarkar on the problems within the Kolkata Knight Riders camp

Dinesh Karthik quit as the Kolkata Knight Riders captain halfway through IPL 2020 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Ajit Agarkar pointed out that the Kolkata Knight Riders were performing quite well before Dinesh Karthik handed over the captaincy to Eoin Morgan. He added that it was clearly visible that there was something amiss in their camp.

"They were in better positions, changed the captain for some reason midway through. You could see that there was something not right in the camp."

Mid season change in Captaincy is never a comfortable situation for the team members. Hope #kkr doesn't go astray from here. They are very much in the race for the playoffs! #DineshKarthik #Eoinmorgan

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 16, 2020

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player observed that there were similar issues with the franchise in the past as well but they had somehow managed to overcome them then.

"I think it has happened before as well and somehow they scraped through to the playoffs but this time it didn't happen. It came back to bite them."

While acknowledging that it is not easy to be consistent in the shortest format of the game, the commentator mentioned that the Kolkata Knight Riders' inconsistent performances did not do justice to their squad.

"The T20 format is very difficult to be consistent but they have got far too good a team to be that."

Ajit Agarkar signed off by saying he hoped that the Kolkata Knight Riders would learn from the mistakes they committed and also stick with their captain for the entire duration of IPL 2021.

"So I hope they get those things right, especially get the leadership right, whoever it is, and stick to it during the course of the season."

The Kolkata Knight Riders had won four of their first seven matches when Dinesh Karthik passed on the reins of captaincy to Eoin Morgan. The Kolkata-based franchise managed to win just three of their remaining seven league stage encounters before being eliminated before the playoffs, based on net run rate.

Proud of #TeamKKR. Didn’t achieve the goals we worked towards but with 3 teams on 14 points separated by marginal NRRs, showed how competitive the ⁦@IPL⁩ 2020 was. A big thanks to all our fans & supporters. We will be back stronger! ⁦@KKRiders⁩ pic.twitter.com/izL0Y2dqq9

— Venky Mysore (@VenkyMysore) November 10, 2020