Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan Has opined that the biggest problem for Kolkata Knight Riders is the ability of their batsmen to play spin in the middle overs.
“The real problem for Kolkata, which I think they didn't address properly in the auction, is: playing spin well. Ever since Shreyas Iyer went, ever since Nitish Rana went, they haven't bought middle-order players in the auction who can handle spin. That's really been the biggest issue, and that's why we saw last year's results,” he said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Kolkata Knight Riders entered the 2026 mega auction with Rs 64.30 crore, the largest purse among all the teams. Despite going out with high-profile buys like Cameron Green (INR 25.20 crore) and Mathisha Pathirana (INR 18 crore), Pathan feels that his new players like West Indian Rovman Powell do not provide him the security to play spin in the middle overs.
“Even this season, when I look at this team, I think the problem will continue. Can you say Rovman Powell is someone who plays spin very well? Certainly, his numbers at number four for the West Indies are very good. There, you face spin. But when you come to this league, spin plays a different role. So, is he capable of it,” he said.
He further said that the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh are all excellent at scoring runs against fast bowlers, but they play very slow against spin, which should have been the major issue addressed by KKR in the auction.
“Then Ajinkya Rahane is very good when batting at the top. But when he comes in the middle, the problem comes to the fore. His strike rate against spin gets quite low, around 100. So can you say Rinku Singh is a good hitter of spin or a good hitter of fast bowling? He is a good fast bowling hitter. Ramandeep also comes in at the end, ideally against fast bowling. If he can play well against spin So that would definitely be an advantage for Kolkata, they haven't. I think the spin problem will persist this year as well,” he concluded.
Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Mumbai Indians in their opening match at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
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