Kevin Pietersen, a former England cricketer, believes Kolkata Knight Riders are too good a team to be wallowing in the bottom half of the IPL 2022 points table.
According to ex-England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, in the IPL 2022, the Kolkata Knight Riders are too good of a side to be in the bottom half of the points table. After a promising start, Shreyas Iyer’s team’s fortunes deteriorated as the tournament went on. Midway through the season, the runner-ups from the previous season couldn’t live up to the hype, losing five straight games. KP Pietersen criticized the continual shifting of the team’s lineup for KKR’s woeful performance in the IPL 2022.
On Star Sports’ ‘Cricket Live,’ Pietersen said: “Due to KKR’s awful performance, too many substitutions have been made because the players fear it’s their last game and they have to perform or they will lose their jobs. I don’t believe this is the best strategy for this game’s format.”
“The goal of this structure is to give participants a sense of belonging, of belonging to a team, of belonging to a brand, and of belonging to the band they’re performing for. It’s important for the players to feel like they have the commitment and can deliver that commitment, and I don’t think you can accomplish that if there is too much chopping and changing “he went on to say.
The KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants have been a tough out this season, but after two straight losses, they are still without a postseason berth.
Speaking about LSG’s recent back-to-back defeats and current form, Pietersen emphasized how important it is for the teams not to become comfortable at this juncture in the tournament.
Pietersen tacked on a final comment: “It’s time to take things more seriously. For four or five weeks of the competition, you can feel great, but by the end of the tournament, poor performance can make you feel down and out. To ensure their playoff berths, teams like Lucknow want to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders and get those two critical points.”
With just one game left in the first round of the IPL auction, the Kolkata Knight Riders will face the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday night.
Aside from Gujarat Titans, any club in the IPL can be eliminated at any time and even a team that has a slim chance of making the playoffs could find itself participating in the elimination and qualification.
