Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti seeks Mentorship from Pat Cummins

Kolkata Knight Riders' young pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti is seeking tips from Australia pace ace Pat Cummins on how to manage injuries as a fast bowler.

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Nagarkoti, an India under-19 World Cup star, had been riddled with injuries and could not make debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after being picked in the 2018 IPL auction.

"He [Cummins] had injuries for a long time. So, I would want to ask him what mindset he had had during those three-four years, how he kept himself motivated and how he prepared himself for the comeback," Nagarkoti told KKR website www.kkr.in.

"I will definitely ask for tips from Cummins if I get a chance. For batsmen, my dream is to bowl to our [head] coach Brendon McCullum at the nets. I have seen him while growing up. His batting style was really aggressive and unique. I guess I can learn a lot from him about the mindset of openers. He was himself an opener, so he can guide me on this. It is important for a bowler to read the mindset of opening batsmen," Nagarkoti said.

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) starts from September 19 in the UAE.

Speaking about his recovery, the wiry pacer said: "Yeah, whatever training programme was advised by KKR, I had been following that. I had a chat with Abhishek Nayar sir and also spoke to my previous mentors at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Soham sir and Anand sir. They have a strong knowledge about my body, so they could suggest correct ways for me to improve. Basically, I took suggestions from all of them and picked out exercises that I could do at home."

Former Olympic sprinter Chris Donaldson was recently recruited by KKR as their strength and conditioning coach.

Asked if Donaldson's workout routine helped him, Nagarkoti said: "I could do some exercises that were moderately difficult. But some were extremely tough. I didn't even try them! You can't start off with such hard exercises. Gradually, as I become stronger, I will try them out."

Nagarkoti also spoke on his rehabilitation process at the NCA.

"I used to interact with a lot of seniors at the NCA, including Rahul Dravid sir. He used to always help me sort out my issues. I learned a great deal when it comes to figuring out the areas I needed to work on, especially my body. Dravid sir has been really helpful in the entire process," he said.

"I have changed a few aspects in my bowling after consulting my coach Surender sir and KKR bowling coach Omkar Salvi sir. They shared a couple of pointers on how to reduce injuries. I have been working on them regularly and they have been pretty beneficial."