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Gambhir's Ghost Haunting KKR? Kaif Tears Into Rahane's Left-Right 'Obsession'

Soumyajit Dutta

Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Mohammad Kaif [Source: @iamazfaar/X]Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Mohammad Kaif [Source: @iamazfaar/X]

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have continued Gautam Gambhir’s legacy of prioritizing left-right batting pairs even after his exit as a mentor. However, the tactic has drawn criticism this season, with former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif labelling it counterproductive. 

Despite a successful 2024 campaign under Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s rigid adherence to the ploy has led to questionable decisions, including demoting key players like Rinku Singh lower down the order.

Kaif Questions KKR’s Tactical Clarity

Speaking on social media, Mohammad Kaif slammed the management’s “stubbornness,” urging them to identify core players and define roles. 

“There is an old saying that lefty-right has to be at the crease. Today, KKR tried to maintain that, and in the process, their main player was not sent up the order. But you must first decide who your main player is... Is it Rinku or Russell or Iyer or Moeen Ali? What are the roles?” 

He highlighted Rinku Singh’s delayed entry against LSG as a critical misstep. “KKR lost the match by just four runs... he barely got any deliveries to face. This thing is not working,” Kaif added.

Middle-Over Struggles and Selection Dilemmas

Kaif also criticized KKR’s conservative approach during chases, advocating for aggressive hitters to be prioritized early.

“In case of big chases, they should just send their big hitters early... They played so slowly yesterday in the middle overs during the partnership between Iyer and Rahane, and Narine struggled to score.” 

He further questioned the exclusion of Quinton de Kock after his match-winning knock against Rajasthan Royals. 

“Why was De Kock dropped? Because they wanted a right-handed batter. Lefty-righty ke chakkar mein naiya dub gayi KKR ki..."

Kaif concluded that KKR’s overreliance on the left-right formula has backfired, urging a tactical rethink to revive their IPL 2025 campaign.

KKR Struggles With Dry Run In IPL 2025

With the batting struggles up to solve, KKR is still left to answer many questions as their playoff hopes hang by a thread. They will next meet Punjab Kings on April 26 in a reverse fixture to avenge their earlier loss and look forward to something as they sit 7th on the points table.