IPL 2014: 5 problems Kolkata Knight Riders need to address before it's too late

If you are not an alien who accidentally landed on this planet, as your spaceship got wrecked, or a Rahul Gandhi maniac calculating the odds of him being the Prime Minister, you must have been following the Indian Premier League. It’s only the beginning, I agree, but the uncertainty of the rest of the season seems pretty apparent going by the results of the first week of the event itself. If you are on Twitter, you must be aware of quite a few hilarious updates in the past 7 days that have been retweeted by hundreds. As I write about the 5 problems that the Kolkata Knight Riders may face in the next few matches, I cannot help but refer to a handful of such tweets.

#5 Stop being kind to Vinay Kumar

Knight Riders had committed their first mistake at the auction by picking Vinay Kumar. Okay, this guy has steered his state team to a couple of historic triumphs in the domestic tournaments, of late, but this is IPL we are talking about: nothing less than an international platform (at least financially, if not in substance).

That Vinay, with his express pace and lethal accuracy will prove to be an asset (for the opposition, but still…) is as obvious as the colour of the 22 yards matching with Navjot Singh Sidhu’s tie and turban. For once, or twice, or 6 times in 5 minutes, you would experience that irresistible urge of listening to Ravi Shastri than watch this Karnataka speester bowl. And if he sends one way down the leg stump and stares bemused at the umpire for calling it a wide, you may well consider catching up on a Justin Bieber song till the end of that over.

The KKR think-tank must have been made aware of Vinay’s plan of world dominance within the next century. If not that, they may have been too busy handling Shah Rukh’s public relations with Salman Khan. Otherwise it’s pretty unfathomable why Umesh Yadav is warming the benches in a country where Morne Morkel’s bounce seems to be persuading the wicket-keeper to adjust the sightscreen.

If the primary scheme of world domination translates as giving 7.50 rpo for two overs, why not test Veer Pratap Singh as an heir? The plan appears pretty simple: give Vinay a couple of overs – no less, not certainly any more, and let him get thrashed all over the park except on his face.

#4 Yusuf Pathan - forbidden to perform?

No one knows why Yusuf Pathan has been playing every match for the last three years. No one knows why he is even in the team. Simply put, the fabled all-rounder has turned out to be a pauper with the bat, butter-hands in the field, and the skipper does not trust him with the ball. Yet he happens to play every match.

Sounds pretty ambitious, but this man may have convinced the coach and the skipper with another world domination story – pretty much on the same lines as Vinay. Well, he has the potential, of course; one only wonders when, if ever, that will be converted into performance. May be we just need to thank him for bearing all the pressure of being called an ‘all-rounder’ and of that huge price tag.

Yusuf has been pretty lucky that his face hasn’t graced the meme creator as often as it deserved to. Perhaps, he’s too unpalatable for the witty-minded or perhaps, his existence till now has been a farce: IPL is crazy, one can’t ever be too sure. If that happens, the first one to cry to his momma will be Manvinder Bisla: the hero of the 2012 final is now carrying drinks at time-outs. Life is unrewarding for a few.

#3 Utilize Ryan ten Doeschate

Which team keeps a record three-time ICC Associate Player of the Year on the benches for three seasons? Kolkata Knight Riders do.

KKR may try their best reasoning the inclusion of Vinay and Yusuf in the playing eleven, but there’s simply no justification to the Dutch all-rounder being kept out of the playing eleven for this long. In the 13 matches he has played for the franchisee, Ten Doeschate boasts of a strike rate of 135.66 and has been electric on the field. The think-tank, for all I know, shouldn't be aware of Tendo’s bowling skills where he can restrict the batsmen if given an opportunity.

The restriction of four overseas players in the eleven should hardly be an excuse, since there’s no logic in playing Shakib Al Hasan in the Emirates alongside Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine. That Shakib has been pretty average in the last two outings must work in Ten Doeschate’s favour. Shibani Dandekar won’t mind interviewing a Dutch for a change, either.

While other teams like Kings XI Punjab are sailing on Glenn Maxwell’s power-hitting, it appears pretty foolish on part of the Kolkata franchisee to maintain a low profile for the Dutch. Improper utilization of resources has always been a chief problem for the Knights, and this season may again yield nothing if they continue to repeat their mistakes.

#2 Let Jacques Kallis be himself

Over criticism is like a fundamental right for an Indian cricket fan. Whoever you are, the nation wants you to answer Arnab Goswami about why you did, what you did and the way you did.

It’s been the same old story for Kallis now in the last two years. Impatient ‘fans’ who seek nothing but entertainment in T20 babble about Kallis’s strike rate for the first 10 overs and laud him for building the foundation when he leaves the field at 70+ in the 15th over. Pretty fickle, yes.

If you are not Suresh Raina’s nephew or Sir Ravindra Jadeja’s disciple, you must understand that your knowledge about the game is grossly unsatisfactory when compared to the man who’s been holding South Africa’s fort for the last decade and a half. Even Navjot Singh Sidhu fails to weave silly quadruplets about ‘Yak Kallis’.

This man has been the saviour for the Knights in more ways than one. Be it standing tall atop the batting order or chipping in with a couple of overs when Vinay is going nuts, Kallis has been the reason why the Knights have emerged as a decent squad. Even in the last match, it was him whom the skipper relied on for a crucial break-through for kindling any kind of chances for his team.

#1 When will Gautam Gambhir lead from the front?

There had been as much anticipation for Gautam Gambhirs return to form as for watching a Sachin Tendulkar-less Mumbai Indians. While the latter has appeared to be moderately impressive, the former has struck a completely blank chord. Needless to say, the skippers lack of form has cost the team 10-15 runs (given the quick rate at which a Gambhir fan is used to), and the Delhi opener needs to fire at least for the poor souls who are having him in their fantasy league team.

The struggle was pretty apparent against the Daredevils, while, against Mumbai, it was Lasith Malingas poison that spelt his death knell. The exquisite timing and the sweet sound of the willow seem to elude Gambhir for more than a year now. and he needs to address that urgently if he wants to resurrect his international career.

No wait is too long as Harbhajan Singh keeps on playing the IPL in his bid to sneak an accidental entry into the Indian dressing room. Yes, Gambhir has been a bit unfortunate about not receiving the Rohit Sharma-treatment in the Indian squad, but all he needs to do is score a century in the IPL against the Chennai Super Kings. Even a couple of media reports about bowling in the nets like Chesteshwar Pujara may suffice.