On the up and down form of KKR in the IPL this season
We’ve lost two in a row now so the alternating has stopped. That’s the nature of the game I feel. It’s very difficult to pick winners on form, because it’s going to turn around so very quickly from one game to the next. You’ve seen conditions here, 45 minutes in the aircraft from Bangalore to Chennai is totally different. So you have different conditions that you have to deal with, you have different oppositions, different teams, players in different teams to deal with. And that will all contribute to wins and losses, we’ve been on the road for two games and, unfortunately, we have not picked up any points. But I would think that therein lies the answer to your question..
Could I take it as an attribution to the format of the tournament and not the players?
No, no, it’s not the format. The format is a terrific format, it’s the conditions and the teams that we are playing and the actual type of game. Twenty overs is very intense, very fast, things can change, as you know, from one over to the next.
Are you struggling to make the semi-finals now?
It appears that way. Teams can still get in there, if they’ve got a healthy run-rate, with seven wins. We have five, we have got two games to go, we’ll press very hard from a pride point of view. But you need to have a pretty decent, healthy run-rate to still feel confident of making fourth spot.
What has gone wrong in the tournament for KKR after a good start?
Two wins was very good, but it can change, as I said earlier. We were on the road after those two wins and it was difficult. I mean, we came across some decent sides, we came across conditions that were also difficult. The long answer will take quite some time to tease out, but the short answer is that you know we didn’t play well enough.
What goes wrong during the matches? Were there problems during the preparations?
We weren’t good enough, we played with some decent teams, there will be a decent review, there is no doubt about that. But we’ve still got two games to go, we have a lot to play for, you know we are a pretty proud bunch of guys and we may be facing a situation where we are not going to qualify (for the semis), but that’s okay, we still have two games to go, we are going to press hard.
Is the owner happy when KKR has only got pride to play for?
Difficult to answer that, I am not the owner.
In hindsight do you think (captain Sourav) Ganguly’s public outburst did more damage?
No, I think that’s looking backwards as well. I don’t think so, many a word has been spoken in emotion. I‘ve done the same thing, I am sure you have too. But everything is done with the best interest of getting the performance that we want.
