“One of the things we tried when we were not doing so well was a lot of centre-wicket practice to bring the confidence back,” Nayar explained after KKR’s loss to RCB. “Same with Varun [Chakravarthy], same with Rinku, because they were two really important players for us and didn’t start the tournament well. So obviously, there are different processes for both of them, but for Rinku, it was getting him in the centre.”
Nayar pointed to a technical adjustment in Rinku’s trigger movement that he believes has revived his finishing game: “If you would have noticed, his initial movement changed; he’s now walking across compared to before. So we kind of figured that out, maybe that can help him, and he’s never done that, so we added that to his batting. It helped him. So a lot of work was going on when we were trying to get these guys back, because it’s not easy.”
Apart from subtle changes in setup and trigger, Nayar felt KKR’s work with Rinku needed to go beyond technique. So there has been as much focus on restoring belief.
“Just having access to grounds and making sure we spent some time in the heat kind of helped,” he said. “Getting his mind back into the belief systems that he can clear the boundary, he can hit those fours and sixes, and what he can do technically and tactically to actually do that. So a lot of groundwork.”
Rinku’s turnaround has mirrored KKR’s too. They’ve now won four of their last five matches, and are still in the playoff hunt despite Wednesday’s defeat. KKR are currently eighth on the table, with nine points in 11 matches, and must win each of their next three games (all at home). Nayar suggested this upturn has been possible because of the team environment as much as skill work.
“I think, to be honest with you, through and through from the inception of the tournament, the one thing that we decided collectively was to be very consistent,” he said. “Consistent in how we approach our processes as a team.
“Making sure the environment, which I feel in the IPL is one of the hardest things to maintain with all the outside noise and pressure. Making sure we create that environment for the guys where they feel like they can be themselves. Because sometimes this tournament can take that away from you.”
Nayar also spoke about the emotional toll prolonged poor form can have on players with so much public scrutiny and social media chatter.
“I know from the outside you don’t understand what a player goes through, but it’s really hard for an individual to not have a good game and come back, and the amount of messages they get, even from close friends or family, it’s not easy for them,” he said. “So I think for us it was to curate an environment where they felt safe, where they felt like they can still go out and play regardless of what the outcome was.”
That philosophy, Nayar said, was why KKR have been reluctant to constantly reshuffle personnel during their difficult phase. This perhaps explains why they’ve continued to back Rovman Powell to be a finisher, leaving a highly skilled and unique prospect like Matheesha Pathirana, form whom they shelled out a lot of money, still on the bench.
“I’ve been there as a player, so I wanted to make sure as a coach I’m very consistent, and so is the support staff, and everyone feels like they’ve not let the team down,” he said. “Because when you enter an IPL, everyone wants to win. There’s no one who’s not going to give their best. There’s no one who doesn’t want to perform.
“But sometimes you need to accept that things aren’t going in your favour. We talk about luck, the rub of the green – sometimes that doesn’t go your way and you need to accept that.”
Nayar added that KKR’s resurgence – even if it may have come a tad late – is because they have stayed committed to those methods even when results were not forthcoming.
“For me, just the environment, the processes in regards to preparation, having a lot of open nets, making sure that guys are still getting centre-wicket practice to keep the confidence going – That is something we did, and stayed consistent with the team.
“Didn’t make a lot of changes because I don’t believe in making a lot of changes. We just tried to back the players that we’ve trusted for so long and hoped that we get better results.”
“One of the reasons why we’ve done so well is the Varun-Sunil [Narine] combination, and Anukul [Roy] doing his part as well,” he said. “Our fast bowlers have closed out games really well. Today was an anomaly; we didn’t really bowl as well as we have in the tournament so far.
“But we’re always excited to go back home. Fans there, we’re looking to make sure when Varun comes back in the next game, we get our strong bowling side back together and use home conditions to our advantage.”
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
