Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to play against Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 31, Monday, in the 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Ahead of the match, the KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit provided the fitness update about the team’s star bowler Sunil Narine who didn’t play the previous match as he was unwell.
Chandrakant Pandit said that Narine who missed the team’s previous game against Rajasthan Royals due to his stomach bug, has now recovered and is absolutely fit for the game to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
“Sunil is 100% fit. He has definitely recovered well and he’s been practising since yesterday. Today he is practising as well so he is absolutely fine at the moment,” Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit said on Sunday.
KKR vs RR clash
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered an easy win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on the 26th of March, Wednesday. In the match, Moeen Ali debuted for KKR replacing Sunil Narine. The Ajinkya Rahane-led team chased the target of 152 in just 17.3 overs and clinched a win.
Moeen Ali, however, didn’t let the team feel the absence of Narine in the game. The 37-year-old scalped two crucial wickets as he set in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal and former KKR player Nitish Rana back to the hut. He conceded 23 runs in the four overs and had an economy of 5.80.
Moeen Ali on playing for KKR
“It was nice. I have been practicing well. I was told this morning Sunil was not well. It was hard to replace Sunil but I did a fair job. Those are the wickets you enjoy the most, try and open the batters up, and spin the ball as much as you can. Really good, really good bunch of guys, it’s been amazing so far,” Moeen said in the post-match conference.
With Sunil Narine’s return to the team, the bowling attack of the KKR team will become more fierce. How will the team perform and will Moeen Ali be part of Playing XII, is something to watch out for.
Chandrakant Pandit’s opinion on getting home advantage
Chandrakant Pandit also gave his opinion on whether it’s time for all the teams to be given the home advantage in the league.
“Who will not be happy about that? I mean, this is a simple answer,” Pandit said.
“See, as a coach, as a team management, whatever the surface has been provided to us, we play (on it). The control, of course, will be under the curator. We expect something to be provided (for the home team). That’s all,” he further added.
