IPL 2021: Eoin Morgan in line to play Kolkata Knight Riders opener on April 11 despite thumb injury
Kolkata Knight Riders would be aiming to win its third Indian Premier League title, having won the previous two under Gautam Gambhir. The side will be led by Eoin Morgan, who replaced Dinesh Karthik as the skipper mid-way last season. He is currently recovering from a thumb injury.
FollowIndian Premier League giant Kolkata Knight Riders would be desperate to get back to being title contenders in the upcoming 2021 season. Furthermore, it would like to do it all under skipper Eoin Morgan, England's most successful skipper in the limited-overs of late.
Morgan replaced Dinesh Karthik as KKR skipper last season, mid-way through the IPL, as the side managed to finish fifth in the table. The upcoming season would be Morgan's fourth with KKR, having previously played between 2011-13 and winning the title in 2012.
Injury
Meanwhile, Morgan is currently nursing a thumb injury he suffered during the just-concluded One-Day Internationals against India, where he split the webbing. However, according to a report by ESPNCricinfo, he seems to be recovering well and should be fit to play KKR's opening game on April 11 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai.
"I feel a lot better than I did a week ago. The plan moving forward is to remove the stitches tomorrow and continue to progress my batting in the coming days and fielding at the back-end of that. Given the time frame that I have available to me, it's looking very good," he said during a press conference.
ALSO READ:Â IPL 2021- What is Harbhajan Singh planning to do for Kolkata Knight Riders?
On KKR as a side
Speaking on the side, Morgan reckoned that the side is strong despite not bolstering with big names and emphasised talent over names. "I think adding Harbhajan to our squad has strengthened us in a good way. When you look at our spin department as a whole on paper it's one of the best in the tournament. You look at the options we have and the conditions we might play in, particularly in Chennai, which notoriously can turn or at least raise the eyebrows of our spinners. I think it's an area that I think if we play well, our spinners would play well. Our squad is very well-rounded, and in certain departments, it is very strong," he considered.
"One positive among all those was the versatility in the middle order and the flexibility to either promote Sunil or myself or DK. The strength within that middle order. I think a lot of teams will not enjoy playing against us. So, as it is one of the strengths of our side, we need to make the right call in when to play the best hand. That's one thing we learnt from last year," he added.
On last season
Speaking on KKR's inconsistent performance last season and the plans for the upcoming season, Morgan hailed the tournament's competitiveness, which is unparallel to anyone. "It is a supremely competitive tournament. You reflect back and think of every single run that made the difference. Last year after we missed out on qualification on NRR, somebody pointed out to me that the difference was just about eight runs for the entire tournament," he asserted.
"That's how close the entire tournament is. It is a tribute to the quality of the tournament. We have to be on top of our game. The beauty of KKR is that we are always a contender. Hopefully, some stars need to align in a long tournament like this. Hopefully, we'll go the full distance this season," he concluded.
