New Delhi, India

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 54 runs at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Saturday (May 14) to keep their playoffs hopes alive. KKR rode on Andre Russell's all-round heroics to post a fighting total of 177 runs on the board before restricting SRH on a paltry 123 runs to bag a crucial win.

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Following his side's victory, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer issued a clarification regarding his statement on the franchise's CEO being involved in team selection. After KKR's win over Mumbai Indians earlier this week, Iyer had revealed KKR CEO Venky Mysore was also involved in team selection.

Iyer's comments soon became one of the major talking points among cricket fans on social media as the KKR management was slammed by many for not letting the captain and coaching staff be in control of cricketing matters. However, Iyer issued a clarification on Saturday and said the KKR CEO was there to console players.

"When I took the CEO's name, I wanted to say that he's there to console the players who've been sitting out. It's tough for us as well while picking teams," Iyer said clarifying his earlier statement on Mysore.

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Following Iyer's revelation about the CEO being involved in team selection, several former cricketers had also criticised the team management. Former India cricketer Madan Lal had said it's the job of the captain and the coaches to decide the team, not the CEO. 

"If that’s true, then what are the coaches and support staff doing? It is the job of coaches and captains to decide on the team, not the CEO. That’s the reason why the team is performing so badly on the field. Something is fundamentally wrong within the team," Madan Lal had said reacting to Iyer's statement.

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KKR moved to the fifth spot on the points table with the win against SRH as they now have 12 points from 13 matches so far this season. KKR have an outside chance of making it to the playoffs if they can win their final league game which will take them to 14 points from as many matches.

KKR will play their last game against Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday (May 18) and will be hoping to continue their winning run.