May 27 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Kolkata Knight Riders stars highlighted the big contributions of Abhishek Nayar for the success of Indian players in the franchise as they lifted their third IPL title on Sunday. KKR played collective cricket throughout the tournament and registered a dominant win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final to stamp their authority and win the title in style. Kolkata were consistent throughout the league stage and finished on the top of the table while they outclassed Sunrisers in the qualifier 1 too.
Nayar joined KKR way back in 2018 and worked with the young Indian players to groom them. He was often seen helping out young talents like Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and others.
KKR’s leading wicket-taker of the season Varun Chakaravarthy pointed out Nayar’s contributions to the team over the years.
“All I can think right now is of the person who built this Indian core: Abhishek Nayar. ‘Please come here’,” he said, asking the former Mumbai batter to join them.
Meanwhile, Nayar, assistant coach said the victory meant everything to them as it took him 16 years before he got the championship.
“It means everything. It has taken a very long time. Personally started playing IPL in the first season. It’s taken me 16 years before I got my championship, but I’m really happy for the boys. It’s been 5-6 years. I can’t express how happy I am. Can’t express it, with the big man (Russell) turning up as usual, but it’s the most surreal feeling that I’ve had in a very long time,” Nayar told the broadcasters after the game.
Gautam Gambhir, who returned to the KKR camp as a mentor, has been given credit on numerous occasions for the team’s success this year for creating a good atmosphere in the camp and his tactical knowledge about the shortest format.
Venkatesh Iyer, who was the hero with the bat for KKR in the final, with an unbeaten 52 in just 26 balls, said that some things go unnoticed when the team tastes success, but he makes sure Nayar gets the credit he deserves.
“As Varun mentioned, credit has to go to Abhishek Nayar. You know certain things go unnoticed. I’ll make sure that they don’t go because that guy deserves all the credit in the world for the way he’s been working for this franchise,” Iyer told the broadcasters after the game.
“And this one is for the fans who turned up in huge numbers year after year, waiting for 10 years. We have some superstars in our team still we did not win, but kudos to the fans who came in regularly to cheer and support us, this is for them,” Iyer said.