[Watch] "A smashing celebration for the man who smashes it big" -  KKR players celebrate Andre Russell's birthday

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players and support staff came together to celebrate dashing all-rounder Andre Russell's birthday, who turned 34 on Friday, April 29.

The Kolkata franchise shared a short clip of the celebration on their social media handles. KKR ordered a customised cake for the hard-hitting all-rounder. The franchise captioned the video:

"A smashing celebration for the man who smashes it big! 🎂 Have a great day, Dre Russ! ✨ @mioamore_bakery | #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2022."

The Knight Riders players jumped on Russell and smashed the cake all over his face. Kolkata CEO Venky Mysore also joined in the celebration.

On the field, though, the Knight Riders have lost the plot in the last gew games after a bright start to their IPL 2022 campaing. Shreyas Iyer and Co. are languishing in eighth place in the points table, having garnered only six points in nine games.

They went down to Delhi Capitals by four wickets on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium. Producing a poor batting effort, they could only muster 146 runs in their allotted 20 overs, which was easily chased down by the Capitals.

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"KKR are not taiyaar" - Aakash Chopra reflects on Kolkata's poor campaign in IPL 2022

With their chances of making the playoffs looking bleak, former India international Aakash Chopra has said that Shreyas Iyer and Co. have not looked good this season.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the 44-year-old said:

"One thing is confirmed that KKR is not taiyaar (ready). They are actually in quite a bad state. To be very honest, when I see Kolkata, I feel do they know their XI; do they have an idea of what they are doing?"

Chopra also reckoned that too much chopping and changing in the playing XI has hurt the franchise this season, adding:

"You give an opportunity to Baba Indrajith, who is actually not a keeper, but you got him to keep. Then you get in Harshit Rana. Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi and Sam Billings did not get a place in the team. You went in with quite a few changes, and then you changed your opening combination once again - Venkatesh Iyer and Aaron Finch this time."

Kolkata will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in their next IPL 2022 game on Monday (May 2) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.