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Kolkata Knight Riders’ journey in the IPL has been nothing short of spectacular. They are a team that struggled a lot during their earlier years (2008-2010). This duration will always be remembered as one of their darkest periods. Then, all of sudden a change of jerseys brought them a change of luck. They rose like a phoenix. They went from being a struggling team to a championship calibre team who have won the coveted IPL trophy on two occasions. Now, Kolkata Knight Riders can be regarded as one of the most successful franchises in IPL history. Surely, the fans have forgotten about their disastrous years in the cash-rich league. Now, KKR are one of the favourites to lift the title every season.
Along with this journey, they have seen a lot of great players come and go. Some of these players were legends in the cricketing world while somewhere youngsters who couldn’t find a place in the playing XI. So, let’s take a look at some of those 10 players might have slipped under the radar at Kolkata Knight Riders.
10. Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher first started his IPL career with the Royal Challengers Bangalore where he spent three seasons. During his tenure with RCB, the South African wicketkeeper was used as a lower-order batsman scoring valuable runs for his team in the final overs.
In 2011, he was finally released from his contract. However, he found himself another franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders. Many won’t fans won’t remember his stint with KKR because he only played one season with them. He scored just 6 runs in 4 matches for KKR before being dropped from the playing XI. This was also the last time that fans saw him in the IPL. He retired from all forms of cricket soon after.
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9. Ajantha Mendis
Everyone remembers Ajantha Mendis as a mystery bowler who made a huge impact when he first debuted in international cricket. But, before he could make his international debut, Mendis was part of the KKR team in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League.
However, he was selected to play in just one game. Though he picked one wicket from his four overs, he was dropped in the following game. His international success earned him another season with the team. In 2009, he played four matches for KKR and picked up just three wickets. It was clear that the mystery behind his bowling had been solved and teams had him figured out. He was dropped the following season and went on to play for Pune Warriors India in 2013. He had another poor season with PWI where he took two wickets in three games.
This was also the last time we saw him play in the IPL.
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8. Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami is one of the best Indian pacers at the moment. He has quickly achieved a lot of success for himself in the international arena. However, Shami was an unknown youngster when he first arrived in the IPL to play for KKR in 2012.
He spent two years with KKR and took just a single wicket in a total of 11 games for them. He was in terrible form and KKR made a wise decision to release him. His success in the domestic circuit earned him another contract in 2014 with Delhi Capitals (formerly known as Delhi Daredevils).
In their 2014 season, he picked just seven wickets in 12 games. Despite his poor form with the ball, went on to play for Delhi Capitals for another four more seasons. Shami is just one of those talented bowlers who hasn’t been able to perform on T20 cricket’s grandest stage. We all know just how talented he his though performances have indicated otherwise.
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7. Shane Bond
KKR turned a lot of heads when they purchased legendary fast bowler, Shane Bond. Bond arrived at the club in 2010 where he spent just one season. He had a decent performance with the ball taking a total of nine wickets in the eight matches with an average of 24.88. It was clear that he wasn’t as fit as he once used to be and he decided to call it quits on his IPL career.
He went on to become a successful bowling coach for the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and was instrumental in helping them win the coveted title that year.
6. Brad Hodge
Brad Hodge started his IPL career with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008 and went on to spend three seasons with them. In their inaugural season, Hodge just managed to play three games and scored 12 runs. The overseas limitation imposed on all the teams meant that Hodge had to spend most of his time on the bench. However, his best season came in 2009 when he was a regular member of their playing XI. He played a total of 12 matches and score 365 runs at an average of 40.55.
This helped him retain his spot with the team for another season in 2010. He scored a measly 99 runs in four games before finally being dropped. He was finally released from his contract.
He went on to play for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala for a single season in 2011 where he opened the batting for them. He played a pivotal part in getting them off to good starts. He scored 285 runs in 14 matches for them.
When Kochi Tuskers Kerala became defunct the following year, he found himself back in the auction pool. This time he was purchased by Rajasthan Royals. He played with this franchise for three seasons from 2012 to 2014. During his tenure with RR, he was known as their finisher as he was quite handy with the bat in the death overs.
Once his retirement, he settled into a coaching role with the same team in 2015.
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5. Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar terrorized batsmen for years in the international scene, so it was only fitting he would do the same for Kolkata Knight Riders. He debuted in impressive fashion picking up 4/11 in his four overs. Despite this, he was only selected to play in three matches in his only season with them.
Given that Pakistani players were banned from playing in the IPL from 2009, we never saw him take the field to play again. He soon retired from all forms of the game. Post-retirement, he settled into an analyst role.
4. Siddarth Kaul
Siddarth Kaul can be considered as a hidden gem that KKR never knew they had. He was part of the KKR dugout in 2008, but he never got a single game to showcase his skills. He spent a single season for them before he was released.
His antics in the domestic circuit earned him an IPL contract with Delhi Capitals in 2013. However, he failed to live up to expectations when he was given a chance to play picking up just 6 wickets from 11 games during his stint at DC.
He reappeared in 2016 to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Again, he wasn’t used in his first season with the franchise. Fortunately, he was retained for another year in 2017. This is when he had his breakout season. He scalped 16 wickets in just 10 matches. For years there was speculation around how talented Kaul was and now he was finally showing his talent.
He was again retained by SRH for their 2018 campaign. He had another standout performance with the ball picking up 21 wickets in his 17 games. He has become a regular member of their playing XI and will look to play a pivotal role in their 2019 season as well.
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3. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson was part of the KKR team before moving to Rajasthan Royals. He spent a single season with KKR and didn’t even get a chance to play. Unsurprisingly, he was released from his contract the following year and went on to play for Rajasthan Royals.
This is where his talent was recognized immediately and he was soon part of the playing XI. He also became the youngest player to score a half-century in the history of the IPL. He has since become one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the league. His best season came in 2018 when he scored 441 runs in 15 matches.
KKR are probably wondering how they failed to recognize his talent.
2. Ricky Ponting
We all know Ricky Ponting as one of the greatest cricketers to ever play the game, but this legendary player just couldn’t get his IPL career off to a good start. In 2008, Ponting was part of the KKR dugout. He only played four games and scored a measly 39 runs. He was soon dropped from the playing XI and was released from his contract.
He went unsold in the IPL auctions between 2009 - 2012 before he was finally purchased by Mumbai Indians in 2013. He was named their skipper, but this didn’t help his poor batting form. He scored 52 runs in six games. Ponting’s poor performances saw his team sit at the bottom of the points table. He decided to relinquish his captaincy to Rohit Sharma mid-season and was dropped from the team. This decision proved a crucial factor in helping MI to their first IPL title.
Punter spent a couple more years with MI as a coach. Currently, he is the coach of the Delhi Capitals team.
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1. Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle can probably be considered as one of KKR’s biggest misses in the IPL. Playing for the franchise from 2008 - 2010, Gayle wasn’t in the best of form. He wasn’t part of the playing XI in 2008 and when he finally got a chance to play in 2009, he was a failure with the bat. After one more average season with the franchise, they (KKR) decided to part ways with Jamaican batsman.
He went on to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2011 - 2017. This is where he spent his best years. He won the Orange Cap on multiple occasions and even earned himself the monicker “Universe Boss”. He also scored the highest individual T20 score (175 not out) against Pune Warriors India in 2013. He has become one of the league’s most destructive batsmen over the years. He has scored a total of 3994 runs in 112 matches at an average of 41.17. He has also scored a total of six centuries and 24 half centuries in his IPL career.
Currently, he plays for the Kings XI Punjab where his good form has continued. KKR are probably wondering whether they should’ve retained him for another season.
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