Uthappa also thanked Nayar for helping him during the injury period.

Kolkata Knight Riders fans would have heaved a sigh of relief after seeing their star man Robin Uthappa return to action after a long injury lay off. Uthappa had not played competitive cricket since October last year as he was sidelined with an ankle injury. Consequently, he missed Saurashtra’s stunning march to the final of the Ranji Trophy where their batting let them down. He later underwent surgery in England and was advised rest for two weeks.

He made his much-awaited return to action on Thursday (February 21) and hit the ground running straight away. The two-time IPL-winning star played a crucial knock of 46 to help Saurashtra pile up 188 for 3 in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-opener against Railways. But unfortunately, it was a comeback to forget for Uthappa as Railway won the game by five wickets. But while the result did not go in his team’s favour, Uthappa is in a good place as far as his fitness is concerned.

In order to recover fully from the injury, Robin Uthappa had travelled to Mumbai to train at the KKR Academy. He was very well assisted by former Mumbai stalwart Abhishek Nayar, the head coach and mentor of the Academy. “I am in a good place right now. Well honestly, it has been a learning curve for me – going through the injury, and then, the surgery,” Uthappa was quoted as saying by the KKR website.

The right-handed batsman went on to open up about his problematic ankle, saying, “It was impeding the flexibility and movement around my ankle, and I have had it for the last three or four years. Immediately after the surgery, the range of movements around my ankle was almost twice as much as (it was) before the surgery even happened. So I am really happy to get it out of the way. I am happy to be back to playing cricket.”

Praise for Nayar:
Robin Uthappa had a word of praise for Nayar, saying that the latter’s approach has worked well for him. “As I have batted more balls, and spent more time here in the middle, I’ve actually felt I have gotten better and better and better,” he said.

“Every day that I have spent at the KKR academy camp – I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. (Nayar’s approach) is definitely out of the box, and something that seems to be working for me very well,” added Uthappa whose last international appearance came during India’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2015.

Knight Riders, meanwhile, will be hoping that their vice-captain hits the top gear ahead of the season as they eye their third IPL title. The two-time champions will open their IPL 2019 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on March 24.

source: http://www.crictracker.com / CricTracker / Home> Cricket News / February 23rd, 2019