NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders wrist spinner
Varun Chakravarthy
stated on Friday that team owner Shah Rukh Khan's motivational speeches have made a "huge impact" on the team during challenging moments in the current IPL season.
His remarks come amid criticism aimed at Lucknow Super Giants team owner
Sanjiv Goenka
for publicly reprimanding skipper
KL Rahul
following a record defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
KKR also experienced a tough loss at Eden Gardens on April 26, when Punjab Kings achieved a world record chase of 262 in just 18.4 overs.
"SRK has been present in almost all matches in Kolkata. Even in the match where we didn't do well, he came to the dressing room and spoke to every player for an hour and hugged everyone," Chakravarthy said referring to the PBKS match.
Is Gautam Gambhir Gelling Well With Rest Of KKR Support Staff?
"He said 'it's just a match, cricket is changing, just try to be better in the next match'. This time, I see a massive difference because the way he has been very understanding, he's been very approachable, it has made a huge impact. I also got to meet him for the first time."
Top-ranked KKR are in a strong position, and a win will secure their play-off spot with two games remaining.
Meanwhile, MI is out of the playoff race, but Chakravarthy emphasized that they are still a very "dangerous" team.
"We don't have any edge over MI because they are out of the tournament. They are a champion side.
"They are full of stars and match winners, and a very dangerous team anywhere. Even if we have to win one match to qualify, we have to be well-prepared and on our toes and look to finish in top-two," he said.
Despite some odd challenges, KKR have managed to come up trumps, winning eight of their 11 matches.
"When you're on top of the table, it gives you more responsibility.
"The best thing we can do right now is being consistent which is tougher than trying to find out something and improve on it. It's about doing the basics right," he said.
English (US) ·