Kolkata Knight Riders premier pacer Umesh Yadav is not playing today's match against Lucknow Super Giants at MCA Stadium, Pune. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer revealed the news at the toss. The KKR pacer suffered a calf injury during the net session. Umesh is KKR's highest wicket-taker and sixth on the list of Purple Cap. KKR skipper Iyer won the toss and opted to field first against LSG. KKR and LSG both made one change in playing XI. Umesh Yadav was replaced by Harshit Rana while Avesh Khan comes in for K Gowtham.
One forced change in our Playing XI!
Harshit Rana comes in for Umesh.@winzoofficial #KKRHaiTaiyaar #LSGvKKR #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/AXzl274MtZ
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 7, 2022
After winning the toss Shreyas told, "Considering the wicket which looks dry and dew is not going to play a massive role on this ground. We also chased pretty well in the last game. We have got one change, unfortunately, Umesh pulled his calf muscle and Harshit Rana comes in. It is really important as a captain to have a great combination right from the first game but there are so many injuries and niggles you have to keep chopping and changing, but that is part and parcel of the game. It has not been great start for us but we are coming on the back of a good win. Looking forward to have a great one here. I want to convert the starts I am getting and play to the situation rather than thinking about my form."
LSG captain KL Rahul said, "We haven't played too many games here. From whatever we have seen on the TV, it has been sticky and hasn't been a high scoring venue. But it gives us a good opportunity as a batting unit to come out and put up a competitive total on the board. We have to assess the conditions and put a challenging total on the board. We have one change - Avesh comes in for Gowtham. That's what gives us confidence and that's what we want to be as a team, performing as a team and not rely on one or two players."
LSG are placed second in the points table with 14 points and four wins in their last five games. They won their previous game against Delhi Capitals by six runs. On the other hand, KKR is in the eighth position in the points table with eight points, with only one win in the last five games. In their previous game, they broke their losing streak with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.
Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Aaron Finch, Baba Indrajith(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Harshit Rana
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock(w), KL Rahul(c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan.
