Kolkata Knight Riders
File:Kolkata Knight Riders Logo.png | |
Personnel | |
---|---|
Captain | ![]() |
Coach | ![]() |
Owner | Shahrukh Khan Juhi Chawla Jai Mehta Red Chillies Entertainment |
Team information | |
Colors | Gold and Purple |
Founded | 2008 |
Home ground | Eden Gardens |
Capacity | 90,000 |
Official website | Kolkata Knight Riders |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Eden_Gardens.jpg/220px-Eden_Gardens.jpg)
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Ganguly_with_shahrukh.jpg/220px-Ganguly_with_shahrukh.jpg)
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.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Ganguly_with_knightriders.jpg/200px-Ganguly_with_knightriders.jpg)
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
- Owners - Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta (Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.)
- CEO — Joy Bhattacharya[16]
Fixtures and results
Overall 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
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) |
2009 season
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) |
2010 season
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 |
See also
- Mumbai Indians
- Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Chennai Super Kings
- Deccan Chargers
- Delhi Daredevils
- Kings XI Punjab
- Rajasthan Royals
- Indian Premier League
- 2010 Indian Premier League
References
- ^ Brand IPL touches the sky
- ^ "Kolkata Knight Riders is richest in IPL" (PDF). brandfinance.com. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ "McCullum's record 158 leads rout". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ "Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Mumbai". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "All is not well between SRK and Ganguly". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ "No rift between Shah Rukh and Ganguly: Knight Riders". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ "SRK says he will boycott remaining matches of IPL". Ibnlive.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ Indian Premier League
- ^ "The Fake IPL Blogger". CricketVoice. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Racial rift between KR coaches, players". TOI. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ a b c d "King Khan launches Kolkata Knight Riders". Yahoo. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ "Kolkata Knightriders launched amidst gloom". Hindustan Times. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ "Kolkata Knight Riders Squad". Cricinfo. 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ "Hodge joins IPL for five weeks". Cricinfo. 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ "Shoaib sued by PCB and sacked by IPL". The Guardian. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/engine/series/418064.html?view=pointstable