IPL 2021: 'Really strong chance': Captain Eoin Morgan reveals KKR's strengths

Eoin Morgan is optimistic about KKR ending their title-drought this year.

Heading into the new Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) season, Kolkata Knight Riders look like one of the strongest teams on paper. However, skipper Eoin Morgan is not getting carried away and maintains that "cricket isn't played on paper." The Kolkata side hasn't won the IPL title since 2014 and when asked about the chances of his side ending the title drought this year, Morgan sounded confident.

Picture of KKR captain Eoin Morgan. (IPL/Twitter)

"We have really strong chances this year. Having gone through the experience last year, my first year as captain, Brendon McCullum's first year as coach. Learning more and more about the players who would benefit us in a huge amount this year. We are in a really strong position, we have guys fully fit at the moment and when you look down the line, particularly on paper, it (our team) looks pretty strong," Morgan said while speaking to Sky Sports.

Teams will be playing a caravan format this year in the wake of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. No team will have the conventional home-and-away grounds advantage and will be required to adapt every step of the way. Morgan believes due to a good auction, the team will have a lot of good options at each venue.

"We've had a really good auction and good recruitment process in getting new players in that offer different things when it comes to selection. Given that we play more and different venues this year, that gives us more options than ever, " said Morgan.

Morgan will play his first season as full-time captain of an IPL. After starting IPL 2020 in the UAE as vice-captain of the two-time champions, he was handed the captaincy by Dinesh Karthik mid-way through the season. While it may be an uphill task for a sports captain to lead a team in a foreign land, southpaw Morgan said it's not "quite as daunting."

"I started last year back at Kolkata as vice-captain and that allowed me to actually build back relationships that I've had with guys over the years and also get to know the new guys as games went on. So, when the opportunity came, it wasn't daunting at all and it was a nice way to actually ease into what I'd already been doing with some of the bowlers and the rest of the squad," remarked Morgan.

Thirty-four-year-old Morgan will look to take his team into the playoffs. They failed to make the cut in 2019 and 2020, having finished fifth in the points table on both occasions. They start their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11.