‘Shubho Nobo Borsho’ – KKR stars Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, & Manish Pandey trade cricket for culinary creations

Indian cricketer Manish Pandey joined South African cricketers Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje for a unique fusion cooking session on KKR’s cookery show ‘Knight Bite’ in a beautiful culinary crossover honouring Poila Baisakh (Bengali New Year).

In the show, the cricket players demonstrated their ability to make “paturi,” a traditional Bengali cuisine that involves wrapping fish or prawns in banana leaves and grilling them. However, the South African version of the dish uses peri-peri sauce.

“I live in the kitchen back home,” Quinton de Kock said, shocking everyone when questioned about his experience in the kitchen.

My wife relaxes while I take care of the cooking. Despite his teammate Nortje acknowledging that it was his “first time in the kitchen in a very long time,” the South African wicketkeeper appeared rather at ease with the culinary procedure.

The love of fishing was disclosed by both South African cricket players. De Kock gave the following explanation of his attraction to fishing: “The rush of adrenaline you get from it… locations throughout the world you go to… The statement “I’ve been all over like the Amazon, St. Charles, and going to mid-Africa for a good time with friends” was a fantastic fit for the cooking session in which they cooked fish that they didn’t own.

A distinctive blend of a traditional Bengali paturi and a South African peri-peri marinade was showcased during the cooking session. Before grilling, the cricketers wrapped prawns and fish in banana leaf.

When Manish Pandey of KKR joined the group, he brought star power to the cooking session. The experienced batter reflected on joining KKR, with whom he won the 2014 Indian Premier League, while providing a player of the match performance: “It was a lot of fun because it was my first time for KKR and my first title as well. Fortunately, the final game was in Bangalore, and since I reside there, it was a very memorable experience after the long season of hard work.”

He added with excitement over the team’s chances, saying, “I really hope the boys are ready to play and get another trophy this season also, because the way everybody played last year was unbelievable.”

They appeared pleased with the outcome as the cricket players sampled their gourmet masterpiece. De Kock’s casual response to the question of whether the food was spicy was, “No, not for me,” demonstrating his ease with Indian spices. The South African players even made an effort to shout “Shubho Nobo Borsho” (Happy New Year in Bengali) as the show came to a happy end.