Kolkata Knight Riders

Captain - Eoin Morgan

Vice Captain - Not Announced

Ambassador(s) - Shah Rukh Khan

Jersey - Purple with accents of Gold

Theme Song - Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo

Major Rival(s) - Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians

Logo - A flaming Purple Knight's helmet with gold outline and the team name inscribed.

Table of Contents

1. History
2. Administration and Support Staff
3. Team Sponsors
4. KKR - Batting Stats
5. KKR - Bowling Stats
6. Fan Base
7. Kolkata Knight Riders Team Performance
8. KKR Squad: Players to Watchout
9. KKR FAQs

History

2008

1. Sourav Ganguly became captain of the Kolkata based franchise.
2. The name of the team is a reference to the popular 1980s American television series Knight Rider.
3. Brendon McCullum struck 158* against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural match of the first ever IPL.
4. KKR could not repeat their first match heroics and ended the tournament in the 6th position.

2009

1. Sourav Ganguly was removed from captaincy.
2. Brendon McCullum assumed the role of the captain.
3. KKR had another miserable season finishing last this time.

2010

1. Sourav Ganguly was reinstated as the captain of the Knight Riders.
2. And yet again the team finished sixth.

2011

1. Sourav Ganguly was sacked.
2. This decision was highly criticised by fans.
3. Delhi boy, Gautam Gambhir was brought in the major auction and was handed captainship responsibilities.
4. KKR finished fourth after reaching the playoff stages for the first time.

2012

1. Sunil Narine starred throughout the season picking up 24 wickets as KKR seemed to have found their mojo.
2. Under Gambhir, the Knight Riders lifted their first IPL Trophy.

2013

1. Although Narine repeated and piled on his heroics from the previous season picking up 22 wickets, something or the other went wrong for the Riders.
2. KKR finished the tournament sixth, despite several great performances.

2014

1. Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine starred in the league stages with former scoring 660 runs and the latter picking up 21 wickets.
2. KKR defeated KXIP lifting the IPL trophy for the second time.

2015

1. With none of the big guns firing and the captain, Gambhir, having the worst form of his career, the Knights failed to defend their crown.
2. KKR finished fifth.

2016

1. Although the Knights reached the playoffs , their advance was put to a halt and they finished fourth.

2017

1. Yet again, even after cruising their way to the playoffs, the Knights faced an upset in the second qualifier to exit the tournament third.

2018

1. Dinesh Karthik was appointed the captain of the team.
2. KKR reached Qualifier 2 and lost the match out of the tournament.
3. KKR finished 3rd.

2019

1. KKR began their season on high but lost six consecutive matches to lose that momentum.
2. Another disappointing year as KKR finishes the season at the 5th place.

2020

1. KKR switched captains mid-season as Dinesh Karthik passed on the baton to Eoin Morgan
2. KKR finished 5th and missed out on a playoffs spot by just 0.042 Net Run Rate.

2021

1. KKR's recent additions before the 2021 IPL are- Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi

Administration and Support Staff

 

CEO and Managing Director: Venky Mysore

Team & Cricket Operations Manager: NA

Head Coach: Brendon McCullum

Batting Coach: David Hussey

Bowling Coach: Kyle Mills

Fielding Coach: James Foster

Strength and Conditioning Coach: Chris Donaldson

Physiotherapist: Kamlesh Jain

 

Also see - IPL Records

 

Team Sponsors

Kolkata Knight Riders have never had any trouble finding sponsors, thanks to its Bollywood contacts. As of 2021, KKR have sponsorship deals with MPL, Jio, Lux cozi, tv9, Astral Pipes, Colgate, Sampark, Fever 104 FM, kotak, Kingfisher, BKT, iB cricket, Bewakoof.com, Boat, cricfig, Wrogn, Gully, Suditi and The Souled Store.

KKR - Batting Stats

 

Most Runs: Gautam Gambhir: 3346 runs

Most Centuries: Brendon McCullum: 1

Most Fifties: Gautam Gambhir: 30

Fastest Fifty: Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine: 15 balls

Fastest Century: Brendon McCullum: 53 balls

Best Batting Average: Owais Shah: 57.50

Best Strike Rate: KC Cariappa: 300.00

Most Sixes: Andre Russell: 131

Most Fours: Gautam Gambhir: 383

Highest Individual Score: Brendon McCullum: 158*

KKR - Bowling Stats

Most Wickets: Sunil Narine: 145 wickets

Best Economy: John Hastings: 5.55

Best Bowling Figures: Sunil Narine : 4-19-5

Best Bowling Average: Shoaib Akhtar: 10.80

Most Maidens: Sunil Narine: 4

Most Runs Conceded: Ryan McLaren : 4-60-2

Most 4 Wickets: Sunil Narine: 7

Most Hat-tricks: Sunil Narine: 1

 

Fan Base

 

Kolkata Knight Riders boasts the biggest Fan Base of all the IPL teams. Although most of it can be attributed to the involvement of the Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the team sure do have a certain charisma about it. Undoubtedly, KKR have always been the most glamorous of all teams earning themselves a loyal fan army over the years. From being underdogs in the first IPL season to one of the most cheered teams in the IPL, the Royals have sure come a long way. The Sawai Mansingh stadium looks like a sea of pink every time the Royals play there.

 

Also see: KKR 2021 Schedule

 

The official Instagram handle of KKR has over 2.3 million followers whereas their Twitter account has 4.3 million. On YouTube the official Kolkata Knight Riders account has over 650K subscribers. Kolkata Knight Riders' Facebook page of 16.2 million followers is also very active with regular updates and uploads.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders Team Performance

 

Year	Captain	Result	Top Batsman	Runs	Top Bowler	Wickets	Win %
2020	Dinesh Karthik/Eoin Morgan	5th	Shubman Gill	440	Varun Chakravarthy	17	50.00%
2019	Dinesh Karthik	5th	Andre Russell	510	Andre Russell	11	42.85%
2018	Dinesh Karthik	3rd	Dinesh Karthik	498	Kuldeep Yadav	17	56.30%
2017	Gautam Gambhir	3rd	Gautam Gambhir	498	Chris Woakes	17	57.14%
2016	Gautam Gambhir	4th	Gautam Gambhir	501	Andre Russell	15	53.33%
2015	Gautam Gambhir	5th	Robin Uthappa	364	Andre Russell	14	53.84%
2014	Gautam Gambhir	Winners	Robin Uthappa	660	Sunil Narine	21	68.75%
2013	Gautam Gambhir	6th	Gautam Gambhir	406	Sunil Narine	22	37.50%
2012	Gautam Gambhir	Winners	Gautam Gambhir	590	Sunil Narine	24	70.58%
2011	Gautam Gambhir	4th	Jacques Kallis	424	Yusuf Pathan	13	53.33%
2010	Sourav Ganguly	6th	Sourav Ganguly	493	Ashok Dinda	9	50%
2009	Brendon Mccullum	8th	Brad Hodge	365	Ishant Sharma	11	23.07%
2008	Sourav Ganguly	6th	Sourav Ganguly	349	Umar Gul	12	46.16%

KKR Squad: Players to Watchout

#1. Andre Russell

Andre Russell is the star of KKR. He already established a record in IPL 2019 while he was on a batting rampage as he struck 52 big ones out of the park. Russell was also brilliant with the ball and has won several games for the Knight Riders single-handedly. This IPL edition is going to be another opportunity for the Jamaican to exhibit his prowess and perhaps take his team all the way over the line.

#2. Sunil Narine

At the helm of KKR players to watch out this season is another West Indian cricketer who has been an integral part of the Knight Riders franchise ever since he joined them. Sunil Narine is one of KKR's ace bowler and has troubled batsmen for several seasons now. What has been a happy surprise for KKR, is his recent developing batting skills. Narine has been opening the batting for KKR quite a few times and swinging it like there's no tomorrow.

#3. Dinesh Karthik

The former captain of KKR, Dinesh Karthik, brings in a lot of experience to the side along with his finishing skills. He is one of the most reputed finishers in the world and sure hits the ball a long way. Although he has given up the leadership role for KKR, he has been excellent behind the stumps.

#4. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill is the personification of India's budding young talent. Shubman has been in and out of the Indian National cricket team recently. He would surely like to seize this opportunity and earn himself a berth in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 later this year.

#5. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has stood the test of times. He has made an impact in the IPL for the Knights and proved himself at the highest level of the game. He has been warming the benches for the national squad ever since international cricket resumed after COVID-19. However, the uniqueness of his bowling style makes him really potent to put his hand up in the ‘players to watch out for’ category for KKR.

KKR FAQs

 

Q1) Which players did KKR retain before the 2021 auctions?

A. KKR retained the following players before the 2021 auction : Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy and Tim Seifert

 

Q2) Who were the players released by KKR before the 2021 auctions?

A. KKR released the following players before the 2021 auction: Chris Green, Harry Gurney, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Siddhesh Lad and Tom Banton

 

Q3) Who were the players bought by KKR in the 2021 auctions?

A. KKR bought the following players in the 2021 auction: Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi