Woakes, Boult will make big impact for KKR, says batsman Pandey

Kolkata, Feb 24 (IANS) India batsman Manish Pandey, who is part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said new recruits Chris Woakes and Trent Boult would make the difference for the city-based franchise in the cash-rich Twenty20 cricket league starting April 5.

England's Woakes and New Zealand's Boult were roped in for Rs 4.2 crore and Rs 5 crore, respectively, in the 2017 auctions.

"These two players, Woakes and Boult, will be really good," Pandey, who is playing for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Jharkhand in their opening match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, told reporters here.

"It will be good help to have all-rounders like them. These two players will make a lot of difference for us," the 27-year-old who is part of India's One-Day International (ODI) set-up, said.

Karnataka also have senior pro Robin Uthappa who open the batting along with skipper Gautam Gambhir for KKR.

Pandey, who holds the record of the first Indian to score a ton in the IPL, added that it is a boon to be getting to play on the Eden track ahead of the cash-rich league as it will help him to understand how the pitch is behaving.

"It's like coming back home. The conditions don't really change that much unless it's a different wicket. Before the IPL, it will be a good start here to see how the wicket is behaving and then take it forward from there," the middle-order batsman said.

As far as Dhoni, with whom Pandey shared the dressing room during the India-England series, is concerned the plan would be to get the former India captain out as early as possible.

"We all know how great a batsman M.S. is. It will always be nice to get him out as early as possible," he said.

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