“Mujhhe open kara de” - KKR star’s honest admission after loss to MI in IPL 2025

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Ramandeep Singh admitted that he would like to open the batting after their loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) in their IPL 2025 clash. Mumbai Indians beat the defending champions by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, March 31.

KKR failed to post a competitve total after batting first. They kept losing wickets right from the start of the innings and were skittled out for just 116 runs in 16.2 overs, not even completing their full 20 overs.

In the post-match press conference, Ramandeep expressed his wish to open the batting.

"Main toh chahta hu mujhhe open kara de. Meri toh wahi koshish rehti hai. (I want to open the batting. I always try to bat up the order)," he said (via Hindustan Times).

Ramandeep walked in very late at No. 9. However, he managed to score 22 runs off 12 balls including a four and two sixes at a strike-rate of 183.33. MI chased down the target easily and KKR are now at the bottom of the table with two points and a poor net run-rate as compared to other teams.

"Team ka jaha combination set hai, jaha team mein mujhe opporutnity milti hai, mujhe waha accha karne ki koshish karni hai. Match-winner banne ki koshish karni hai (Where the team combination is set, wherever I get an opportunity, I want to try and do well there. I want to try and become a match-winner)," he added.

The defending champions have now lost two of their first three games this season, not having an ideal start to their title defense.

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KKR suffering due to dynamics of mega auctions?

Given the dynamics of the mega auctions and the retention policies, KKR lost many players who made vital contributions to their title-winning campaign last year such as Phil Salt, Mitchell Starc and captain Shreyas Iyer.

Ramandeep Singh also opened up on the mega auctions and how combinations have to be changed every three years.

"Mega auctions are disheartening. You set a combination, and then every three years you have to change the team. But that is not an excuse; teams will try and find their winning combinations as quickly as possible, and we are trying to find our winning combination as well," he said.

KKR next face Sunrisers Hyderabad, whom they beat in the final last year, on Thursday, April 3, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.