Powell Urges KKR to Stay Composed in Playoff Push: “No Need to Get Desperate”

KKR

With five losses from nine completed matches, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) find themselves in a tight spot in IPL 2025. To reach a realistic playoff threshold of 17 points, they now need to win all four of their remaining games. Despite the pressure, Rovman Powell believes the team must stay composed and focus on one game at a time, starting with their clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday at home.

Reflecting on KKR’s campaign so far, Powell admitted the team wouldn’t have wanted to be in this position. But he also stressed that the race for the playoffs is still within their control.
“We didn’t plan to be here, but the good thing is our fate is still in our hands,” Powell said in Kolkata on Saturday. “We can’t afford to think about all four games at once — we’ve got to focus on one game at a time. That starts with our next opponent.”

Powell warned against panic, urging KKR to stay grounded in their process.
“You can’t get too desperate. You have to trust the system,” he said. “It’s not just crunch time for us — every team, even those in the top four, are under pressure to perform now. IPL is often won by the team that finds momentum late in the season. If we do that, we give ourselves a real shot at the title.”

Drawing from examples like Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s dramatic late runs in 2009, 2016, and even last season in 2024, Powell noted that finding form in the final stretch can turn a campaign around.

Despite insisting the team has moved on from their early struggles, Powell couldn’t help but look back at the Punjab Kings defeat, where KKR failed to chase a target of just 112.
“That game really hurt us. If we had secured those two points, our table position would’ve looked a lot better,” he admitted. “It was down to poor batting, but since then, we’ve had good conversations and the team has shown progress.”

Powell also emphasized the role of the overseas players in guiding the younger Indian players through this tense period.
“Many of our local players are still fairly new to high-pressure games,” he said. “We’ve played in different leagues and faced similar situations, so it’s up to us to support and guide them. At the end of the day, it’s still just cricket.”

Looking ahead to their game against RR — who may be out of playoff contention but could still play spoiler — Powell said KKR had taken note of Mumbai Indians’ massive 100-run win over RR.
“We’ve studied that game closely. We’ve looked at tactical options to challenge their batting, especially their openers Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal,” he said.

On his own role, Powell clarified that he expects to continue batting at No. 8, even if it limits his time at the crease.
“It’s a tactical call,” he explained. “Our Indian batters are strong in the middle overs, and the team is built around them. My job is to bring some Caribbean power at the end, even if it’s just for a few overs.”

KKR may be on the ropes, but with the right mindset and execution, Powell believes the fight is far from over.

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