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Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are one of the biggest franchises in the world. With superstar owners and incredible players in their ranks, KKR have won the coveted IPL trophy on two occasions in 2012 and 2014.
The team was transformed by their former captain Gautam Gambhir, who moulded the side into a winning combination.
However, even before the opener took over at the Eden Gardens, KKR were a force to be reckoned with, as was evidenced by Brendon McCullum's blistering 158* in the first-ever IPL game.
KKR's underrated IPL players
Apart from the obvious big names such as Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and current captain Dinesh Karthik on their roster, KKR have had many players turn out for them in the IPL without receiving adequate recognition.
In this article, we take a look at the Kolkata Knight Riders' three most underrated players in the IPL.
#1 Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan is one of the greatest all-rounders to have ever played the game of cricket, so his inclusion in the list of underrated players might surprise many. However, the Bangladesh man was never a regular on the KKR team sheet in the IPL.
He played for the team for 7 seasons (2011 to 2017) and over the course of his time at KKR, he played only 43 matches. In these games, Shakib scored just shy of 500 runs at an average of 21.65 and a strike rate of 130.37, never batting in the top-order like he does for Bangladesh.
The left-arm spinner also picked up 43 wickets at an exceptional economy rate of 7.17. Shakib was often demoted to the fourth-choice spinner role, behind Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, and Piyush Chawla. While all the three names are excellent bowlers in their own right, none of them offer the batting ability that Shakib possesses.
Despite his game being a perfect match for the spin-friendly conditions at the Eden Gardens, Shakib never quite featured regularly enough to make a significant impact. The all-rounder shifted base to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he has featured 20 times in just 2 seasons.
Shakib is currently serving a ban from all forms of cricket for failing to report the approach of bookies, a ban which ends in October this year.
#2 Rajat Bhatia
Rajat Bhatia is one of the most unique cricketers to have ever played in the IPL. He played for KKR for only three seasons (2011-2013), but played 46 games for the franchise, scoring 159 runs and picking up 32 wickets at an economy of 7.22.
The all-rounder was never consistent or good enough with the bat, but with the ball in hand, he had the uncanny knack of restricting batsmen despite the lack of any pace. Along with his gentle 120kph looseners, he boasted of an assortment of slower balls - back-of-the-hand, leg-cutters, off-cutters - he had them all.
Bhatia went on to play for the Rising Pune Supergiant and the Rajasthan Royals, but wasn't as effective without the Eden pitch and the shrewd captaincy of Gambhir behind him. After transferring to Uttarakhand in the Ranji Trophy, he top-scored for the team in the 2018-19 group stages.
Bhatia is now 40 years old, and in all likelihood, we have seen the last of him in the IPL.
#3 Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary played for his home state's franchise for four seasons, from 2010 to 2013. Over the course of 54 games for KKR, he scored 1002 runs at an average of 29.47, impressive stats considering that he was largely used in the lower-middle-order.
Tiwary scored 4 fifties for KKR and made a comeback to the Indian ODI setup during his time in the purple and gold in 2011. However, despite a fighting hundred in Chennai against the West Indies, he warmed the bench for 14 games immediately afterwards.
The batsman was never afforded many chances for India and has even been without an IPL team for the past two seasons. Understandably, Tiwary hasn't taken his unfair exclusion for the IPL and the Indian national team too well and even lashed out at KKR a while ago for not including his name in a throwback tweet.
Also Read: 3 most underrated players in Mumbai Indians history
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