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Kolkata Knight Riders

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Kolkata Knight Riders
File:Kolkata Knight Riders Logo.png
Personnel
CaptainIndia Sourav Ganguly
CoachAustralia Dav Whatmore
OwnerShahrukh Khan
Juhi Chawla
Jai Mehta
Red Chillies Entertainment
Team information
ColorsGold and Purple
   
Founded2008
Home groundEden Gardens
Capacity90,000
Official websiteKolkata Knight Riders
Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders (Bengali: কলকাতা নাইট রাইডার্স) (often abbreviated as KKR) is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. The team is led by Sourav Ganguly, and coached by Dav Whatmore. Sourav Ganguly is the team's Icon Player. The official theme of the team is Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re (Bengali for We will do it, Fight for it, Win it) and the official colors are purple and gold. As per the recent study done by a UK based brand valuation company, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are ranked as the second most valuable franchise brand at US$46 million.[1] Celebrity co-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s hard-selling of the KKR brand has counteracted the team’s poor on-field performance.[2]

Franchise History

Owner Shahrukh Khan (left) with Sourav Ganguly, the captain and Gauri Khan, the wife of Shahrukh Khan .
A Chennai vs Kolkata match in progress at the M.A. Chidambaram Cricket Stadium.

Kolkata Knight Riders is one the 8 franchise teams taking part in the Indian Premier League. It was bought by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla Mehta and her Husband Jay Mehta.

Taking over Red Chillies Entertainment is the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders too.

2008 IPL Season

Performance

The Kolkata Knight Riders had a good beginning to the season by winning their first two matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers.Kolkata Knight Riders' opening batsman Brendon McCullum scored 158 runs in the first match, which is a record for the highest runs ever scored by a batsman in a Twenty-20 match.[3] However, the team started experiencing failures and lost consecutive four matches. The team managed to stage a comeback of sorts by winning next three matches based on strong performances by Sourav Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar. But their performance dipped again and lost next three matches, which included their match against Mumbai Indians, in which they were bowled out for 67 runs, the lowest score by a team in IPL 2008 season.[4] When their match against Delhi Daredevils was washed out due to rain, they lost any chance of making it to the semifinals.[5]. The Knight Riders ended their season on a winning note by defeating Kings XI Punjab on their home ground.

Controversy

There were reports of a rift between Shahrukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly over various issues such as team composition, Sourav's choice of batting first in the game against Chennai Super Kings, entertainment tax being imposed for matches played at Eden Gardens (Shahrukh reportedly wanted Sourav to speak to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya about it, which was refused by Sourav).[6] It was also reported that Shahrukh Khan bestowed more powers to John Buchanan including giving him full powers to select the team for the following year which was not liked by Sourav.[6] However, the team management issued a statement that the reports of a possible rift are untrue.[7]

Shahrukh Khan was further barred by the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit from entering the dressing room of the team when matches were in progress. Shahrukh Khan then issued a statement that he would be boycotting the remaining matches of the IPL till the code of conduct was clarified by the IPL authorities.[8].

There were also speculations that Kolkata Knight Riders will shift its base from Kolkata to Ahmedabad because of the money demanded by the C.A.B. But after a meeting with Jagmohan Dalmiya, Shah Rukh Khan assured everyone that his team will stay in Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders were also in the news for all the wrong reasons when the Fake IPL Player blog started revealing, supposed behind the scene drama between the players and the management. The blog lasted for a season after which the Fake IPL Player brought out a book, the Gamechangers, based on these events in March 2010.

Financial

Financially, the Kolkata Knight Riders were easily the most successful franchise in the IPL, achieving a profit of Rs. 13 crore.[9]

2009 IPL Season

Players

Kolkata Knight Riders was among the least active franchises during the offseason, with no player trades. However, the team signed Mohnish Parmar during the offseason and also re-signed Ajantha Mendis to a long term deal. The most notable personnel move for Knight Riders came during the 2009 IPL Auction, where the team signed Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza.

Controversy

The rift between Sourav Ganguly and Shahrukh Khan took a new turn as Ganguly was removed from the captaincy in the 11th hour and replaced by Brendon McCullum. Rumors are that John Buchanan wanted Ganguly out. First, he floated a series of theories discussing "multiple-captains" before completely undermining Ganguly's captaincy. Soon thereafter, a blog popped up on the web whose author is an anonymous blogger, who claims to be a member of the team and seems determined to reveal every team secret, warts and all. The posts describe what the blogger claims are team meetings, arguments between coach and team members, post-match parties and pre-match strategy.[10] More controversy arose when there were accusations of a racial rift between KKR coaches and players.[11]

Cheer Leaders

They were the first team in IPL to select their cheer leaders by a talent hunt show called Knights and Angels, judged by Sourav Ganguly and Guest Star and hosted by Bollywood actor Purab Kohli. However, the winning team did not get a chance to perform at games during the 2009 season since local authorities only allowed South African cheerleaders to be used.

Livery

The logo of the team consists of a blazing golden Viking helmet against a black background with the name of the team Kolkata Knight Riders written in gold. The main theme of the team Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it) has been created by Vishal-Shekhar duo.[12] A Knight Rider album with several singers and music composers including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri will also be created.[13] The tag line of the team is All the King's Men.[12] The team's official colours are purple and gold. The jersey was created by Bollywood fashion designer Manish Malhotra.[12] The team also has a mascot named Hoog Lee, who is a lazy Royal Bengal Tiger and loves to eat burgers. The name is a pun on the river Hooghly. The name Knight Riders has been chosen keeping in view the kids and the youth.[12]

Players

A group of men standing, wearing black t-shirts and blue faded jeans. All of them are looking to the left of the image. The backdrop has alternate black and green boxes.
Captain Ganguly with other cricketers of the Kolkata Knight Riders team during IPL 2009.

Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team is the icon player and led the Kolkata franchise. The team also includes all rounders Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Angelo Mathews, wicket keeper batsmen Brendon McCullum, Wriddhiman Saha. The main bowlers are Shane Bond, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Karthik. Australian batsman Bradley Hodge and Sri Lankan bowler Ajantha Mendis were bought outside IPL Auction on 2008. On IPL Auction 2009 Team bought Bangladeshi All-Rounder Mashrafe Mortaza. Team also includes Charl Langeveldt who was signed outside of Auction. Due to unavailability of Pakistani players in 2009 KKR had to suspend contract of key performer from the 2008 season Umar Gul.[14][15].

On 26 April 2009, KKR administration sent back two of its players Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar on the premises of poor performance. But there was high media speculation that one or both of them have been caught or strongly suspected of being the "fake IPL player" responsible for the blog which had been creating ripples with inside information on KKR team. Shane Bond is the latest KKR acquisition after releasing Ricky Ponting, Morne van Wyk, Umar Gul, Salman Butt, Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Akhtar, Moises Henriques for IPL III. Their international players for the 2010 season are - Shane Bond, Mashrafe Mortaza, Brendon McCullum, Charl Langeveldt, Ajantha Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Owais Shah & Chris Gayle.

Current Squad

Template:Kolkata Knight Riders Roster

Administration

Fixtures and results

Overall results

Summary of results
Wins Losses No Result % Win Position
2008 6 7 1 45% 6
2009 3 10 1 21% 8
2010 (Current) 5 5 0 50% 5[17]
Total 14 21 2 33%

2008 season

Template:WebSlice-begin

No. Date Opponent Venue Result
1 18 April Royal Challengers Bangalore Bangalore Won by 140 runs, MoM – Brendon McCullum – 158* (73)
2 20 April Deccan Chargers Kolkata Won by 5 wickets, MoM – David Hussey – 38*
3 26 April Chennai Super Kings Chennai Lost by 9 wickets
4 29 April Mumbai Indians Kolkata Lost by 7 wickets
5 1 May Rajasthan Royals Jaipur Lost by 45 runs
6 3 May Kings XI Punjab Mohali Lost by 9 runs
7 8 May Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata Won by 5 runs, MoM – Sourav Ganguly – 20 (22) and 1/7 (3 overs)
8 11 May Deccan Chargers Hyderabad Won by 23 runs, MoM – Sourav Ganguly – 91 (57), 2/25 (4 overs) and 2 catches
9 13 May Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Won by 23 runs, MoM – Shoaib Akhtar – 4/11 (3 overs)
10 16 May Mumbai Indians Mumbai Lost by 8 wickets
11 18 May Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Lost by 3 runs (decided by D/L method due to rain interruption)
12 20 May Rajasthan Royals Kolkata Lost by 6 wickets
13 22 May Delhi Daredevils Delhi Match abandoned due to rain
14 25 May Kings XI Punjab Kolkata Won by 3 wickets, MoM – Umar Gul – 4/23 (4 overs) and 24 (11)

Template:WebSlice-end

2009 season

Template:WebSlice-begin

Date Opponent Venue Result
19 April Deccan Chargers Cape Town Lost by 8 wickets
21 April Kings XI Punjab Durban Won by 11 runs (D/L Method), MoM – Chris Gayle – 44* (26)
23 April Rajasthan Royals Port Elizabeth Lost by 3 runs in Super Over
25 April Chennai Super Kings Cape Town Match abandoned due to intermittent rain
27 April Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth Lost by 92 runs
29 April Royal Challengers Bangalore Durban Lost by 5 wickets
1 May Mumbai Indians Durban Lost by 9 runs
3 May Kings XI Punjab East London Lost by 6 wickets
5 May Delhi Daredevils Durban Lost by 9 wickets
10 May Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg Lost by 7 Wickets
12 May Royal Challengers Bangalore Pretoria Lost by 6 wickets
16 May Deccan Chargers Port Elizabeth Lost by 6 wickets
18 May Chennai Super Kings Pretoria Won by 7 wickets MoM Bradley Hodge 71*(44)
20 May Rajasthan Royals Durban Won by 4 wickets MoM Laxmi Shukla 48*(46)

Template:WebSlice-end

2010 season

Template:WebSlice-begin

Date Opponent Venue Result
12 March Deccan Chargers Navi Mumbai Won by 11 runs MoM Angelo Mathews 65*(46)
14 March Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata Won by 7 wickets MoM Manoj Tiwary 50(29)
16 March Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Lost by 55 runs
20 March Rajasthan Royals Ahmedabad Lost by 34 runs
22 March Mumbai Indians Mumbai Lost by 7 wickets
27 March Kings XI Punjab Mohali Won by 39 Runs MoM Manoj Tiwary 75(47)
29 March Delhi Daredevils Delhi Lost by 40 Runs
1 April Deccan Chargers Kolkata Won by 24 Runs MoM Sourav Ganguly 88(54)
4 April Kings XI Punjab Kolkata Lost by 8 wickets
7 April Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Won by 14 runs MoM Sourav Ganguly56 (46)
10 April Royal Challengers Bangalore Bangalore N/A
13 April Chennai Super Kings Chennai N/A
17 April Rajasthan Royals Kolkata N/A
19 April Mumbai Indians Kolkata N/A

Template:WebSlice-end

See also

References

  1. ^ Brand IPL touches the sky
  2. ^ "Kolkata Knight Riders is richest in IPL" (PDF). brandfinance.com. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  3. ^ "McCullum's record 158 leads rout". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  4. ^ "Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Mumbai". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  5. ^ "All over for Knight Riders in 2008 - Post Kotla washout, even a win in last match won't be enough". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  6. ^ a b "All is not well between SRK and Ganguly". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  7. ^ "No rift between Shah Rukh and Ganguly: Knight Riders". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  8. ^ "SRK says he will boycott remaining matches of IPL". Ibnlive.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  9. ^ Indian Premier League
  10. ^ "The Fake IPL Blogger". CricketVoice. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  11. ^ "Racial rift between KR coaches, players". TOI. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  12. ^ a b c d "King Khan launches Kolkata Knight Riders". Yahoo. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  13. ^ "Kolkata Knightriders launched amidst gloom". Hindustan Times. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  14. ^ "Kolkata Knight Riders Squad". Cricinfo. 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  15. ^ "Hodge joins IPL for five weeks". Cricinfo. 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  16. ^ "Shoaib sued by PCB and sacked by IPL". The Guardian. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  17. ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/engine/series/418064.html?view=pointstable
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