Kolkata Knight Riders will be expected to put in yet another good performance in IPL 2016
The blazing golden Viking/Corinthian helmet, the rich royal colours, the superstar owner, Manish Malhotra designed jerseys, two IPL silverwares in the cupboard, the grandest stadium as their home ground, everything about Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is glitzy and grand. When we speak of success in its literal way, it is KKR. Not only has the IPL franchise enjoyed an immense fan following but also it has been the most successful in terms of minting moolah. Its brand value is highest among all IPL teams. The city of Kolkata (capital of West Bengal) is a home to the most passionate sports fans. The fact that the team is co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan adds to the fan base. SRK as he is popularly referred to also happens to be the state’s brand ambassador. READ: Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in IPL 2016: Know your team
Home ground: It is a dream of most cricketers to play in all of the three most iconic venues — Lord’s in London, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)and Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Eden Gardens holds a special place in the game’s history and despite a massive reduction in seating capacity, the stadium still remains the largest in India. Fans flock together to cheer KKR during their home games at the massive Eden Gardens.
Owners: Apart from SRK, the team is co-owned by popular Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla and her industrialist husband, Jay Mehta. The owners purchased the team for US$ 75 million in 2007-08 and it was not the most expensive one. In 2015, the owners of KKR also brought a stake in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel. The team went on to win that edition. READ: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2016: Know your team
Fandom: The main theme of the side and the anthem goes in Bengali: Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo (We will do it, Fight for it and Win it). The fans in Bengal and among the most emotional and passionate ones and KKR connects to them. The SRK factor has definitely added to it but the side also got it right in the first edition when they picked many of the star players such as Chris Gayle, Shoaib Akhtar, Brendon McCullum and others. Most importantly, they nailed it by naming Bengal’s favourite son and Indian cricket legend Sourav Ganguly as the skipper. Ganguly was the icon player, who led in the first and third edition, and his unparallel fan following helped KKR. READ: Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016: Know your team
The tone was set right from the inaugural IPL game when McCullum set it up with his blazing 158 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2008. IPL got a perfect start and so did KKR.
With success also came controversies. KKR did not have a good time in the first three seasons when it came to results. There were tiffs between Ganguly and their renowned coach John Buchanan, when the former was removed from captaincy in the second season. Also the most ardent of supporters shifted their base when Ganguly was not retained by the franchise after the third edition. It took them time to win hearts of fans which they eventually managed with the team winning more games under Gautam Gambhir. Also, Ganguly’s occasional presence as a spectator during home games filled the Eden stands. Ganguly is currently the President of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the state association in charge of Eden Gardens. Also, KKR enjoys huge support from the Mamata Banerjee-ruled state government. Who can forget KKR’s state sponsored celebration at Eden when they won the IPL 2012! READ: Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2016: Know your team
Some of the ugliest controversies KKR were involved in include SRK abusing security at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai that earned him a ban, and more recently the ban on their star spinner Sunil Narine’s action created furore in the KKR camp. KKR over the years have triumphed over the negatives and will once again start as one of the favourites.
How they fared over the seasons?
Year
Captain
Position
CLT20
2008
Sourav Ganguly
Finished 6th in the table with 6 wins and 7 losses
DNQ
2009
Brendon McCullum
Finished 8th in the table with 3 wins and 10 losses
DNQ
2010
Sourav Ganguly
Finished 6th in the table with 7 wins and 7 loses
DNQ
2011
Gautam Gambhir
Finished 4th with eight wins and 6 loses
Group Stage
2012
Gautam Gambhir
Won the tournament. Won 10 and lost 5
Group Stage
2013
Gautam Gambhir
Finished 7th with six wins and 10 loses
DNQ
2014
Gautam Gambhir
Won the tournament. Won 9 and lost 5
Runners-up
2015
Gautam Gambhir
Finished 5th with seven wins and six loses
Scrapped
KKR’s overall IPL and CLT20 record
Played
Won
Lost
Tied
NR
Success (%)
137
69
61
2
5
53.08
Most runs for KKR:
Players
M
R
Ave
SR
Gautam Gambhir (IND)
77
2,036
28.67
124.0
Yusuf Pathan (IND)
76
1,389
29.55
138.1
Jacques Kallis (SA)
56
1,295
26.42
106.8
Sourav Ganguly (IND)
40
1,031
28.63
110.5
Robin Uthappa (IND)
29
1,024
37.92
135.4
Most wickets for KKR
Players
M
W
Ave
Econ R
Sunil Narine
55
74
17.77
6.00
Jacques Kallis
56
42
27.45
7.53
Shakib-Al-Hasan
32
38
21.76
6.92
L Balaji
35
33
27.87
7.38
Rajat Bhatia
46
32
29.09
7.21
Team news: Trevor Bayliss, who has been with the KKR side for a while is now the England coach. KKR have now appointed Jacques Kalllis as their coach for the upcoming season. The above table reflects Kallis’ contribution to the side. Having released a few of their all-rounders, KKR will be looking to gun for some new ones in the auction.
Retained players: Gautam Gambhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Sheldon Jackson, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan (India); Sunil Narine, Andre Russell (West Indies), Brad Hogg, Chris Lynn (Australia), Morne Morkel (South Africa) and Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh).
(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)