KKR team 2021: Rahul Tripathi owes Ben Cutting pizza and french fries; here is why

The Kolkata Knight Riders are gearing up for the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The social media handles of the franchise have kept the fans updated with KKR players' photos, training videos and intra-squad practice match streaming. On Monday, a few KKR players like Ben Cutting, Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti among others were involved in a gruelling fielding drill with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

KKR team 2021: Ben Cutting's sharp fielding earns him dinner from Rahul Tripathi

Nayar divided players into two teams, one featuring Ben Cutting, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Sheldon Jackson, the other consisting of Rahul Tripathi and Sandeep Warrier. The ball was being hit by Nayar whereas players from both sides had to collect the ball and hit the stums. While Cutting's team did it comprehensively, Tripathi failed to hit the target even once.

To make the fielding drill more competitive, Nayar started cheering Tripathi but the Maharashtra-based cricketer failed to hit the timber. Looking at Tripathi's misses, Nayar announced that they'd go on till Tripathi hits the stumps which he couldn't. In the end, the KKR assistant coach said that whoever hits first will get a dinner treat from Tripathi and that's when Cutting hit the bullseye.

After the drill, as the players gathered, Cutting revealed his dinner order. The Australian all-rounder said that he would like a couple of cheeseburgers, french fries and pizzas. However, Cutting stated that he is going to order for everybody and not just himself.

Ben Cutting IPL 2021

Meanwhile, Cutting was drafted into the KKR squad when he was bought by the franchise for his base price of ₹75 lakh at the IPL 2021 auction. The Australian is seen as a potential backup to all-rounder Andre Russell. Cutting has been in the IPL for a while, however, he has failed to secure a permanent place for himself in the tournament.

After playing for Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, Cutting will now ply his trade for the KKR. The Ben Cutting stats include the 21 IPL matches he has played where he has scored 238 runs at an average of 21.6 and strike-rate of 168.8. He also has 10 wickets to his name at an economy rate of 9.16. The Ben Cutting IPL 2021 form will be crucial for KKR to succeed in the competition.

KKR IPL 2021 schedule

According to the KKR IPL 2021 schedule, the Eoin Morgan-led side will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening match of IPL 2021 on Sunday, April 11 in Chennai. The KKR vs SRH game will get underway at 7:30 PM (IST). The two-time IPL champions will play their first three matches in Chennai, followed by two in Mumbai, four in Ahmedabad and the final five games in Bengaluru.

KKR squad

KKR players retained

• Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert.

KKR players bought at IPL 2021 auction

• Harbhajan Singh (₹2 crore), Shakib-al-Hasan (₹3.2 crore),  Ben Cutting (₹75 lakh), Karun Nair (₹50 lakh), Pawan Negi (₹50 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (₹20 lakh), Venkatesh Iyer (₹20 lakh) and Vaibhav Arora (₹20 lakh).