Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach, Jacques Kallis is excited to have England pacer Tom Curran in his kitty, terming him as an excellent replacement of Mitchell Starc for the ongoing IPL 2018.
The Australian pace spearhead, who was bought by KKR for a whopping Rs 9.4 crore, has been ruled out of IPL 2018 with a right leg injury that Starc picked up during South Africa Test series last month.
Curran, who was overlooked during the IPL Auction 2018 earlier the year, has been called up by KKR as a replacement for Starc for the 11th edition of the T20 tournament.
The 23-year-old has played his maiden IPL match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday (10 April), finished with 2/39 in three overs.
Meanwhile, the South African great Jacques Kallis has confidence in Curran’s abilities, saying the Englishman also has the great ability to contribute with the bat in KKR’s cause this season.
In his column for Times of India, Jacques wrote, “It was a blow to lose Mitchell Starc at short notice but we are not alone - Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada were also ‘casualties’ of a hard-fought Test series between South Africa and Australia. But Tom Curran is an excellent replacement.”
The KKR coach further added, “I’m excited to have him on board. Obviously, he has particular skills for bowling at the end of the innings, but he can bowl anywhere, and I would be surprised if his batting doesn’t make a few important contributions along the way.”
Commenting on new skipper Dinesh Karthik, he said, “Karthik has played a double role – both as captain and a new player himself – and, as expected, has been excellent.”
The 42-year-old all-rounder, who has scored 1603 runs and took 48 wickets in 70 matches for KKR, saying that the franchise is known for its stability, and has the ability to change and grow into the future.
Kallis signed off by saying, “The Knight Riders franchise is known for its stability and its success has been underpinned by a core group of senior and familiar faces but, like all successful teams, KKR has been able to change and grow into the future. Lots of time was spent in the week or ten days before the first game helping the new players to settle in and find their feet within the KKR family.”
