Indian Premier League franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed former Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji as their bowling coach for IPL 10. Balaji will replace Pakistan legend Wasim Akram who will not be a part of the outfit due to other professional commitments and time constraints. Akram was appointed as the bowling coach and mentor in 2010. He played a vital role during his tenure and helped KKR win the title twice in 2012 and 2014.
Balaji, who represented KKR from 2011-13, has big shoes to fill in as the bowling coach. “I had thoroughly enjoyed my stint as a player for KKR and I am delighted to be back to the franchise that I have admired,” he said in a press release. Balaji was the first cricketer to take a hat-trick in IPL. He achieved the feat against KXIP in 2008 when he was playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He dismissed Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and VRV Singh in the last over as CSK won the match by 18 runs. In the process, Balaji had picked up 5 wickets in the match.
While playing for KKR, Balaji took 10 wickets in 14 matches in the first season. He conceded 371 runs from 266 deliveries that he bowled. Balaji was one of the key players in 2012 who helped KKR win the championship. In just 8 matches, he picked up 11 wickets and gave away just 163 runs in 179 balls. Owing to his economical performance and wicket taking ability, he earned a comeback to the Indian team for the World Twenty20 in 2012. In the last season for KKR, he picked up 12 wickets in 13 matches but was expensive as he gave away 387 runs in 300 balls.
Kolkata Knight Riders have retained Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Sheldon Jackson, Chris Lynn, Piyush Chawla, Ankit Rajpoot and Sunil Narine for IPL 10.
Gunning for glory! #KnightsOf2017 pic.twitter.com/SZnWcvEmzv
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 19, 2016
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