JAIPUR, India, CMC – Kolkata Knight Riders managing director, Venky Mysore, believes all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite will be an asset to the franchise and could form a dynamic combination with fellow West Indies teammates, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, in next year’s Indian Premier League.
The 30-year-old Brathwaite was picked up by KKR for US$709 000 following a bidding war with Kings XI Punjab, making him one of the most expensive buys in Tuesday’s auction here.
“It’s great to get Carlos Brathwaite to the KKR set up. He’s a quality player, a terrific individual, great attitude. He will fit in nicely into the KKR setup,” Mysore said after acquiring the Windies Twenty20 skipper.
“More importantly, I think the multiple skills that he brings will supplement what we already have so we’re really looking forward to working with him.”
Brathwaite will now join Narine and Russell, forming a potentially lethal trio, especially with their powerful all-round skills.
Narine is best known for his brilliant off-spin which has already earned him 112 wickets in 98 IPL matches but in recent seasons has been used a pinch-hitter with some success at the top of the order.
Russell, 30, is broad-shouldered, big-hitting lower-order batsman who gathered 316 runs last season and grabbed 13 wickets with his pace.
Mysore anticipates KKR could benefit from the trio’s collaboration.
“I think the think tank has ideas about how to create certain combinations and a lot of it depends on the opposition and conditions, but that could be a very interesting proposition,” he explained.
“If you look at the top 200 T20 players, the top two are Andre and Sunil, and Carlos is not too far from there so to have the luxury of three world class all-rounders could make a big difference.”
The move for Brathwaite takes him back to the place where he first made a name for himself in international cricket. It was at Eden Gardens in 2016 when he blasted consecutive sixes from the four four balls of the last over of the T20 World Cup final, to earn West Indies a dramatic title-win.
And Mysore said those memories would still be fresh in the minds of supporters.
“He’ll remember that, the Eden crowd will remember that and all the fans that saw that exciting moment,” Mysore said.
“Hopefully he’ll be able to create some magic when he plays and I’m quite confident he will, so I’m looking forward to that.”
IPL season 12 bowls off March next year.