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It was the season of fightbacks. The world was fighting back with a pandemic. Cricket was fighting back for resumption. After a long hiatus, the once abruptly halted Indian Premier League resumed in September.

After contracting COVID-19, Varun Chakaravarthy was forced out of the action for months. On his return, India’s sensation and first mystery spinner had a chip over his shoulder. He had a point to prove with the ball in hand.

When you look at Sunil, you can hardly gauge what is going through his mind. It is hard to fathom that a man so calm and composed on the outside can wreak havoc on the ground.

India was in a celebratory mood as the IPL resumed after a hiatus. To top it off, it was the 200th IPL game for Virat Kohli, arguably the greatest player of his generation.

Pandit, for whom it will be his maiden IPL stint, is the most successful Indian domestic coach having won six Ranji trophy titles with three different states. He led Mumbai to three Ranji titles in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2015-16. It was in his final season that a young Shreyas Iyer topped the run charts with 1321 runs and announced his arrival.

Accepting the new challenge, Chandrakant Pandit said, “It’s a great honour and privilege to be given this responsibility. I have heard from players and others who have been associated with the Knight Riders, about the family culture, as well as the tradition of success that has been created. I am excited about the quality of the support staff and the players who are part of the set up and I am looking forward to this opportunity with all humility and positive expectations.”

KKR hosted the first ever KKR Academy camp in Kolkata involving young cricketers from the region and Bengal’s Women Team players at Eden Gardens' state-of-the-art indoor facility

The Indian vice-captain currently averages 57.87 against the West Indies and a healthy 42.56 overall with half of his innings batting at No. 4. However, it's at No. 3 he averages the highest: 55.80 in five innings and Iyer said that's the position he enjoys batting at the most, having done so at the IPL and domestic level.  

Dravid also defended the four-pronged pace attack comprising of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj with Ravindra Jadeja the lone spinner ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin, a move prompted as much by the flat pitches as the overcast conditions. 

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