"The second-half comeback by KKR will go down in the history of IPL as one of the greatest comebacks" - Venky Mysore 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has opened up about the franchise's incredible comeback in the second leg of the 2021 IPL. Placed second from bottom after the end of the first leg, KKR put together an incredible set of results to reach the final of the edition.

Mysore attributed the comeback to several factors, citing from a changed attitude in the dressing room to a change in the team combination. The inclusion of Venkatesh Iyer proved to be a catalyst as well as the trickery provided by the spin twins Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.

Speaking on Brad Hogg's YouTube channel, Mysore said:

"The relationship has been very healthy with all the coaches and support staff. The second-half comeback by KKR will go down in the history of IPL as one of the greatest comebacks. The break last year came at the absolute right time for us. We were not playing bad cricket, the results were not going in our way. Many of our players were selected in the England and Sri Lanka tour, four or five players got capped during that period, so the mindset was very positive when we congregated again for the second leg. "

Mysore continued:

"Narine's form with the new action was also very important. In the CPL, he was unplayable. I sent Russell to Dallas for a six week fitness and training program, that made a huge difference, made Russell fit as the fifth bowler and allowed us to bring Venkatesh Iyer in the XI."

KKR managed to win five out of their last seven league games in the second leg. Coming into the playoffs with momentum on their side, they made easy work of RCB and DC in the knockouts to set up a final clash against CSK.

"There was no question on whether we were going to retain Russell or not" - Venky Mysore

There was speculation surrounding Andre Russell's future with the two-time champions. However, the franchise retained him as their number one choice player along with Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer.

Speaking on the decision to retain Russell, despite his injury concerns, Mysore said:

"I've been talking to Russell about the need for him to play as an all-rounder for about 3 years. I share a great relationship with him. I've said to Russell that there is nobody in the world that can do what you can do when you're fit. I told him that you have to focus on taking care of himself. We've done everything we can within our powers for Russell and to his credit, he has responded well. In our mind, there was no question on whether we were going to retain him or not."

Russell has largely been reduced to a pure batter or batting all-rounder over the course of the last few seasons. Even in the previous edition, he suffered a major hamstring injury while fielding against CSK.