In a major boost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), wicketkeeper-batsman Robin Uthappa is back in action after recovering from an ankle injury called Osteophytes. The 2007 T20 World Cup winner caused some fireworks in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament on Thursday, scoring 46 for Saurashtra against Railways.
Following a promising comeback on the field, Uthappa feels that he is ‘in a good place’ at the moment.
“I am in a good place right now. Well honestly, it has been a learning curve for me - going through the injury, and then, the surgery,” Uthappa was quoted as saying by the KKR website.
The 33-year-old had an ankle surgery that had kept him out of action for four months. Rejuvenated, and a long-time niggle taken care of, Uthappa spent almost a month at the KKR Academy, getting back to the grind with the help of Abhishek Nayar, the head coach and mentor of the Academy.
“Immediately after the surgery, the range of movements around my ankle was almost twice as much as (it was) before the surgery even happened. So I am really happy to get it out of the way. I am happy to be back to playing cricket.” Uthappa said.
Following a range of rehabilitation drills and exercises, Uthappa arrived in Mumbai to train at the KKR Academy in January.
“As I have batted more balls, and spent more time here in the middle, I've actually felt I have gotten better and better and better,” he added.
KKR open their IPL 2019 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on March 24. In October 2018, Uthappa went under the knife in London.