The Kolkata Knight Riders made the headlines when they signed Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins for a massive sum of ₹15.5 Crores, the costliest-ever bid for a foreign player in the IPL.

The Knight Riders also procured the services of Englishmen Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton, while also landing the final bid for notable uncapped players such as Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy among others.

With IPL 2020 scheduled to commence on March 29, the KKR academy was abuzz with local talents and the recent signings honing their skills under the watchful eyes of mentor, Abhishek Nayar.

However, the threat of the novel coronavirus brought a premature end to the training camp, and despite missing out on some quality practice time, KKR’s latest signing Rahul Tripathi is excited for what is to come in IPL 2020.

Tripathi spoke about how KKR CEO Venky Mysore would come and gel well with players over meals and share his experiences, and the team as a whole enjoyed doing dance sessions and pilates together.

As for his experiences under new captain Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Tripathi shed light on how the wicketkeeper batsman’s clear thought process is the most striking feature of his captaincy.

Rahul Tripathi has already played three seasons of the IPL, having made his debut for the Rising Pune Supergiants back in IPL 2017. The right-hander plied his trade for RPS for a year, before shifting to the RR for the next two seasons.

“Excited to see how Andre Russell prepares ahead of the IPL season”

From 34 matches, Rahul Tripathi has made 758 runs at a strike rate of 137.71 but more importantly, the Pune-based batsman’s ability to float around the batting order has seen him bat from positions 1 to 6.

Having recently slotted into the finisher’s role for RR in the IPL and Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Rahul Tripathi is keen to pick the brains of big-hitters like Andre Russell, and KKR head coach Brendon McCullum.

The stylish right-hander also heaped praise on first-class cricket veteran Abhishek Nayar for helping him improve certain facets of his batting style. Having played alongside Nayar for BPCL, Rahul Tripathi is chuffed to learn under the all-rounder’s mentorship at KKR in the IPL.

With big names such as Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Dinesh Karthik and Russell among others set to take the field for KKR in IPL 2020, Rahul Tripathi could be expected to put on quite a few exciting partnerships in the coming season.

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