3 forgotten KKR players who played a role in the team's success

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) who have always punched above their weight over the years.

Their journey started with Brendon McCullum's blitzkrieg in the IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) back in 2008. McCullum's unbeaten 158 off 73 balls was a rollicking start for the T20 extravaganza.

Although former India captain Sourav Ganguly was the iconic star to woo the local support in the initial seasons, KKR's progress came under Gautam Gambhir.

The franchise won their maiden title in 2012 when they outplayed MS Dhoni's CSK in a thrilling run-chase (191) in the final. In similar fashion, they bagged their second title after Manish Pandey's fireworks against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) while chasing above 200.

Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are two of the oldest guards still playing for the two-time IPL winners from the era of Gambhir. The former is also the leading wicket-taker of the franchise,

The likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Pat Cummins were once picked years after they made their debut for the franchise. Robin Uthappa is the only player from the franchise to win the Orange Cap (highest run in an IPL season). He won it for his vital contribution with the bat (660 runs in 16 games) in IPL 2014.

In IPL 2022, Cummins slammed the joint-highest fifty of the tournament in just 14 balls against the Mumbai Indians. Russell's 5/15 against MI in IPL 2021 are the best bowling figure for the franchise in IPL history.

There have been a truckload of memories for the franchise in the last 15 years of the IPL and a night will be short for their supporters to cherish with them.

In this further piece, we shall take a look at three players from KKR who had a significant impact on the team's success. There might have been very little talk about these players since the time they lost connection with the league. Here, we will make an effort to recall their contribution to the Knight Riders.

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1) Manvinder Bisla

Bisla started his IPL journey for the Punjab outfit in 2010 before moving to KKR the following season. The Haryana wicketkeeper-batter played 38 matches for the Kolkata-based franchise between 2011 and 2014, scoring 719 runs at a strike rate of 114.49.

Bisla's opportunities were limited due to the presence of Brad Haddin and Brendon McCullum in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Bisla replaced the latter in the final as KKR wanted to accommodate Brett Lee in place of the injured Lakhsmipathy Balaji.

He scored a blistering 89 off 48 balls in response to CSK's 190 in the marquee clash. He missed out on a well-deserved century as he holed out in the 15th over. He was, however, rewarded Player of the Match as his brilliant knock paved the way for KKR's maiden IPL title.

Bisla played a full season in 2013 but didn't find any great returns with the bat, scoring 255 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 108.05. His highlight of the season was a 61-ball 92 against CSK in Chepauk.

He played just three games in the next two seasons, with the last two appearances coming for RCB in 2015.

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2) Manoj Tiwary

Tiwary joined KKR in 2010 and became a regular in their middle batting order. If Bisla was the man to build the platform for the team in a 191-run chase in the 2012 final, it was Tiwary who hit the winning runs for the team.

Needing nine runs in the last over against death bowling specialist Dwayne Bravo, Tiwary was unperturbed and hit consecutive boundaries to take his side to glory.

He amassed 1136 runs in 64 innings in KKR colors with an average of 28.40 and a strike rate of 110.39. In IPL 2010, Tiwary's unbeaten 75 against Punjab powered the team to a competitive score of 183 and they eventually won by 39 runs.

Tiwary was released by KKR ahead of the 2014 mega IPL auction as the franchise retained Gambhir and Narine. The Bengal cricketer extended his run in the IPL for five more seasons after leaving KKR. He played for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Rising Pune Supergiants, and KXIP.

Tiwary, who is the current sports minister of West Bengal, still plays in the Ranji Trophy for his state team.

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3) Rajat Bhatia

Rajat Bhatia played 95 IPL matches and picked 71 wickets at an average of 28.45 and an economy of 7.41.

He is also remembered for standing between Delhi teammates Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli during an IPL match between KKR and RCB in 2013.

After Kohli's dismissal off Balaji's bowling, the two aggressive captains were seen charging towards each other with some heated words in exchange. However, Bhatia didn't allow the iconic Indian players to get involved in any physical altercation.

Keeping that incident aside, Bhatia was a clever medium-fast bowler who used the slower balls as his potent weapon to deceive the batters. He was a reliable bowler during the slog overs. He conceded fewer runs, claiming 19 dismissals in the death overs in the IPL at an average of 17.52.

Bhatia joined KKR in 2011 and represented the Purple and Golden team in 54 games across three seasons. He was part of their 2012 victorious campaign, where he picked up 13 wickets at 29.92.

In IPL 2012, Bhatia bowled an impressive leg-cutter to crash into the stumps of MS Dhoni when CSK needed just nine runs to win from the last five balls. Although KKR lost the match, the bowler's temperament was noteworthy.