{"id":27286,"date":"2026-03-21T16:15:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/2026\/03\/21\/ipl-2026-r-ashwin-declares-kkrs-bowling-no-longer-a-threat-to-rivals\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:15:06","slug":"ipl-2026-r-ashwin-declares-kkrs-bowling-no-longer-a-threat-to-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/2026\/03\/21\/ipl-2026-r-ashwin-declares-kkrs-bowling-no-longer-a-threat-to-rivals\/","title":{"rendered":"IPL 2026: R Ashwin Declares KKR\u2019s Bowling No Longer a Threat to Rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<h3>Ashwin Questions Kolkata Knight Riders&#8217; Bowling Strength<\/h3>\n<p>R Ashwin, a former spinner for India, recently shared his thoughts on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), suggesting that their bowling attack isn\u2019t as fearsome as it used to be. KKR had built a strong reputation with top bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Kuldeep Yadav. These players often made it tough for opposing batsmen.<\/p>\n<p>However, Ashwin believes that the mystery and uniqueness that once defined KKR&#8217;s bowling has faded. He mentioned that rival teams are likely not as cautious when facing KKR&#8217;s current bowlers compared to the past when they were considered quite intimidating.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think teams will feel worried seeing KKR\u2019s bowlers. The mystery and fear factor seem to have disappeared,\u201d Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<p>In discussing specific players, he noted that Varun Chakravarthy needs to adapt because batters have started to figure him out. Ashwin also pointed out that Sunil Narine can\u2019t rely on his quicker deliveries anymore, which makes KKR less daunting for opposing teams, especially at their home ground, Eden Gardens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVarun is at a point in his career where he needs to find new ways to succeed. That\u2019s a normal part of any cricketer&#8217;s journey,\u201d Ashwin added. Regarding Narine, he said, \u201cHis action limits his ability to bowl faster, making it easier for teams to target KKR.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Lack of Key Players<\/h3>\n<p>Ashwin initially thought KKR&#8217;s bowling attack would be strong after the auction, but now it appears weakened. With Mustafizur Rahman not available and injury concerns surrounding Matheesha Pathirana and Harshit Rana, Ashwin feels there isn\u2019t anyone in the lineup ready to take on a leading role.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter the auction, I was optimistic about KKR\u2019s bowling. But with Mustafizur out, and Pathirana and Harshit injured, it\u2019s a challenge,\u201d he remarked. He mentioned Blessing Muzarabani as a promising player, but stressed that the team is in need of someone to step up and lead the bowling effort.<\/p>\n<p>KKR is set to kick off their season on March 29 against the Mumbai Indians, a team with a storied history in the league. <\/p>\n<p>This season could prove to be a true test for KKR as they seek to regain their former strength.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashwin Questions Kolkata Knight Riders&#8217; Bowling Strength R Ashwin, a former spinner for India, recently shared his thoughts on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), suggesting that their bowling attack isn\u2019t as fearsome as it used to be. KKR had built a strong reputation with top bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Kuldeep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[19302,16490,35199,35198,35197,13392,1617,9618,160],"class_list":["post-27286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-akash-deep","tag-ipl-2026","tag-ipl-captaincy","tag-ipl-injuries","tag-kkr-bowling","tag-mustafizur-rahman","tag-r-ashwin","tag-sunil-narine","tag-varun-chakravarthy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}