Shreyas Iyer opens up on Kolkata’s chop and change strategy

Kolkata faced Mumbai in the 56th match of the Indian T20 League 2022. They dominated their opposition in all departments of the game and won the match convincingly by 52 runs. The big win in the match has kept Kolkata’s playoff hopes alive. However, virtually they have been eliminated from the tournament, wins in their remaining matches will keep their hopes mathematically possible.
Meanwhile, Kolkata’s current situation in the tournament is astonishing as they had a flying start to the tournament. They won three of their first four matches and looked like strong contenders to lift their third ITL title. However, a five-match losing streak led them to lose their momentum and they are languishing in the bottom half of the table. The biggest problem for the Men in Purple has been their failure to find a perfect team combination. There has been too much chopping and changing within the team for one’s liking.
Ahead of the clash against Mumbai, Kolkata made as many as five changes in their team from their last match. While speaking about their strategy behind making so many changes, Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata captain) said that the CEO of the franchise, Venky Mysore is also involved in the selection of the first eleven. He also stated that it is difficult to inform players that they are being dropped for a match.
“It is really difficult. Coach and at times, CEO is also obviously involved in team selections,”- said Shreyas Iyer in a conversation with Star Sports.
“Each and every player takes it well, and they have put in their best efforts. The win was comprehensive, and when I spoke to the players, they were pumped up to win the game today,”- Iyer added. The Kolkata skipper also seemed pleased with his team’s complete performance in the match. He also praised Venkatesh Iyer’s explosive knock of 43 runs in the match.
“I am very pleased because after losing the last game by a big margin, feels good to come back and win by a big margin is nice. We had a nice start in the powerplay and Venky targeted the bowlers well. I personally felt that it wasn’t easy to start for a new batter,”- Shreyas added further