The medical staff of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will evaluate the condition of their captain, Ajinkya Rahane, on Wednesday following an injury to his right hand during their 14-run victory against Delhi Capitals (DC) while fielding.
During the post-match presentation, Rahane downplayed the severity of his injury, stating that it wasn’t too serious and he would recover quickly. According to KKR allrounder Anukul Roy, Rahane had received a few stitches but he should be back in action within two to three days. KKR’s upcoming match is on May 4 against Rajasthan Royals at their home ground, where Rahane will most likely be playing.
While fielding at short cover, Rahane took a hit to the hand from a ball hit by Faf du Plessis off Andre Russell’s bowling. The ball then bounced towards mid-off for a single and Rahane wasted no time in leaving the field to get his injury checked out.
After leaving the field and receiving a bandage on his hand, Rahane did not rejoin the match. Venkatesh Iyer, who was serving as his vice-captain, was replaced by Vaibhav Arora. This allowed Sunil Narine, KKR’s Impact Player, to step in and captain the team for the remaining nine overs of their bowling innings.
According to Rahane, Narine’s final two overs were crucial as he took out Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, and du Plessis. Despite a good score of 204 on that wicket, he felt they were slightly lacking. While their batting was strong, the fielding team knew they were just one or two wickets away from closing in on the chase and unfortunately that’s exactly what occurred.
Sitting at seventh place, KKR has earned nine points in their initial ten games. Rahane believes that despite their current position, his team can draw strength from their previous late surge to the finals in 2021. He stated that while it is often discussed when they are not performing well, it is crucial to focus on the present and use this match as a source of confidence for future games.