IPL Team analysis: Kolkata Knight Riders:
Kolkata Knight Riders 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 study done by leading brand valuation companies, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are ranked the most valuable franchise brand at US$42.1million. Celebrity co-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s hard-selling of the KKR brand has counteracted the team’s poor on-field performance
Kolkata Knight Riders 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.
The team also includes the allrounder Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, wicket keeper batsman Brendon McCullum, Wriddhiman Saha. The main bowlers are Shane Bond, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Karthik. Australian batsman Brad 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 Pakistani players unavailability in 2009 KKR had to suspend contract of key performer from the 2008 season Umar Gul.
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.
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 team’s official colours are purple and gold. The jersey was created by Bollywood fashion designer Manish Malhotra. 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
Players’ Profile:
Saurav Ganguly:
Some felt he couldn’t play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly’s ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India’s most successful Test captain.
Major teams: India, Asia XI, Bengal, East Zone, Glamorgan, India Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Northamptonshire
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
T20 Record: 47 Matches 949 runs, 91 high score, and 27 wkts
Ajit Agarkar:
Agarkar came into international cricket with a bang, becoming the fastest to get to the 50-wickets mark in ODIs. However, injuries derailed his progress, and he couldn’t actually deliver what he was capable of. Lean and tall, Agarkar bowls lively medium pace, can move the ball both ways, and is capable of getting the ball to skid off the tracks. A very good outfielder, Agarkar also has a good throwing arm and can fire in throws from the boundary. He hasn’t quite scored as many runs as he would have liked, but he is still one of the few Indian batsmen to have scored a Test century at Lord’s. In the first two seasons of the IPL, Agarkar returned with 14 wickets from 20 matches, but was rather expensive at 8.61 runs an over, and will be hoping to improve on those numbers in the third edition.
Major teams: India, Kolkata Knight Riders, Middlesex, Mumbai
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
T20 Record: 32 Matches 182 runs, 39 high score and 26 wkts
Shane Bond:
Shane Bond has given New Zealand a rare fast-bowling option. He is among the fastest bowlers in the world, and with his arrival the potency of the attack has increased. The quickest New Zealander to reach 50 one-day international wickets, including a national best of 6 for 22 against Australia in the 2003 World Cup, his potential is only limited by his susceptibility to injury, having suffered crippling stress-fractures in his feet and back.
Major teams: New Zealand, Canterbury, Delhi Giants, Hampshire, Kolkata Knight Riders, Warwickshire
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
T20s Record: 28 Matches 32 runs and 37 wkts
Varun Aaron:
Major teams: Australian Centre of Excellence, Jharkhand Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
T20s Record: 4 Matches 6 runs and 5 wkts
Ashok Dinda:
Ashok Dinda was spotted by a coach in Kolkata after bowling a few overs in the nets. The coach, Atal Dev Burman, asked him to stay back and hone his talents. After a stint with Kalighat club and the Australian Institute of Sport, Dinda made his first-class debut for Bengal in the 2005-06 season. He was a regular member of the side that reached the final of the Ranji Trophy the next season, although his performance with the ball wasn’t that impressive, with 16 wickets in eight matches at 54.56
Major teams: India, Bengal, East Zone, Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium-fast
T20s Record: 27 Matches 25 runs, 2 catches and 18 wickets
Eklakh Ahmed:
One of the latest additions to the Kolkata Knight Riders team, 25 years old Eklakh is both a useful left-hand bat and a left-arm medium-fast bowler. He’s known for his good line and length, and economical bowling and he’s a promising prospect from Bengal. Eklak looks forward to make a difference to KKR’s prospects this season.
Major teams: Bengal, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata Tigers
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium-fast
Rohan Gavaskar:
A stylish left-hander, Rohan Gavaskar will be a key all-rounder in the Kolkata Knight Riders team in season 3. An attacking batsman, Rohan has years of experience in the domestic arena. His slow left-arm orthodox spin has claimed crucial wickets and won matches for his side. Former captain of the Kolkata Ranji team and a former player of the Indian team, he adds strength to both departments.
Major teams: India, Bengal, ICL India XI, Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
T20s Record: 10 Matches 113 runs and 3 wkts
Chris Gayle:
Gayle has often gotten his team off to great starts – be it Jamaica, West Indies or the Kolkata Knight Riders, who bought him for $800,000. He missed the first edition of the IPL owing to injury, but of the seven times he batted in the second season of the IPL, he managed 40 or more on more than three occasions. In each of those innings, the runs were scored at a good pace.
He may not be the most athletic fielder, given his huge built, but he is a safe catcher nonetheless and not too many deliveries can escape his bucket-like hands.
Major teams: West Indies, ICC World XI, Jamaica, Kolkata Knight Riders, Stanford Superstars, Western Australia, Worcestershire
Playing role: Batsman
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20s Record: 32 Matches 897 runs, 14 catches and 21 wkts
Brad Hodge:
Brad Hodge is still pushing hard to avoid becoming an Australian cricket nearly man. When he was dropped with an average of 58.42 only five matches into his Test career in 2005-06 it would have been easy for him to disappear into the first-class ranks he has dominated for most of his career. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” was Hodge’s response. He was right, even if it took more than two years.
Major teams: Australia, Durham, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Victoria
Playing role: Higher middle order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20S Record: 83 Matches 2610 runs, 106 high score, 32 catches and 40 wkts
Iqbal Abdulla:
A left-hand allrounder who bowls orthodox spin, Iqbal Abdulla has represented Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in 2007-08 and also played for India Greens in the Challenger Trophy.
Major teams: India Green, India Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
T20s Record: 12 Matches 19 runs and 13 wkts
Murali Kartik:
A left-arm spinner in the classical mould, Murali Kartik has long been on the fringes of the national team. He has a high-arm action straight from the coaching manual, and possesses all the weapons in his armoury. But he hasn’t always had the breaks, and has regularly played the understudy to Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
Major teams: India, India Green, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Middlesex, Railways
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
T20s Record: 50 Matches 83 runs, 14 catches and 40 wkts
Charls Langeveldt:
Swing bowling is among South African cricket’s rarest commodities, which makes Langeveldt a bonafide gem. That’s a fact that hasn’t always been treated properly by the national selectors, but his franchise teams certainly don’t mind him hanging about. Add enough pace to make life uncomfortable for most batsmen to the equation, and it isn’t difficult to recognise Langeveldt’s worth.
Major teams: South Africa, Boland, Border, Cape Cobras, Derbyshire, Kolkata Knight Riders, Leicestershire, Lions, Somerset, South Africa A
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
T20s Record: 40 Matches 9 catches and 59 wkts
Brendon McCullum:
Brendon McCullum has stepped up to the national side as a wicketkeeper-batsman after an outstanding career in international youth cricket, where he proved capable of dominating opposition attacks. He found it hard to replicate that at the highest level at first, although there were occasional fireworks at domestic level. But he finally made his mark in England in 2004, with 200 runs in the Test series, including an entertaining 96 at Lord’s.
Major teams: New Zealand, Canterbury, Glamorgan, Kolkata Knight Riders, New South Wales, Otago
Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper
T20s Record: 79 Matches 2268 runs and 37 catches
Anglo Mathews:
Mathews made his debut for Sri Lanka Under-19s when he was just 16 years old, against Pakistan in 2003. He is an outstanding allrounder, capable of batting anywhere in the top order and also delivers lively medium pace.
Major teams: Sri Lanka, Basnahira North, Colts Cricket Club, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka Under-19s
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
T20 Record: 33 Matches 549 runs, 65* high score and 23 wkts
Ajantha Mendis:
Ajantha Mendis was a relatively unknown entity in the first season of the IPL when he managed just the one outing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. However, after establishing a reputation by picking up wickets at the international level and becoming the quickest to get to the 50-wickets mark in ODIs, Mendis got a few more opportunities in IPL Season 2. He couldn’t quite live up to the hype and reputation and only managed three wickets in four matches.
Major teams: Sri Lanka, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sri Lanka Army, Wayamba
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak
T20s Record: 37 Matches 21 runs and 54 wkts
Cheteshwar Pujara:
Major teams: India, India Green, India Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders, Saurashtra, Saurashtra Under-16s, Saurashtra Under-19s
Playing role: Batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak
T20 Record: 6 Matches 125 runs, and 2 catch
Wriddiman Saha:
Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha was drafted into the Bengal Ranji side after regular wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta signed up with the Indian Cricket League. He grabbed the chance with both hands, becoming the 15th Bengal player to score a hundred on Ranji debut. Though he managed only one more fifty in the remaining first-class games of the season, he was signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League.
Major teams: India, Bengal, India A, Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper
T20 Record: 31 Matches 441 runs, 71 high score and 14 catches
Owais Shah:
With the kind of talent he had, the Karachi-born Owais Shah was identified at a very early age to be the answer to England’s middle order woes. Stylish and elegant in his stroke-play, Shah is a batsman in the classical mould.
He hasn’t quite delivered to the extent that was expected of him, but he is still rated very highly in cricketing circles. Despite his classical style of batting, Shah has met with a lot of success in Twenty20 cricket too; he averages in excess of 30 and has scored his runs at a strike-rate of over 130.
Major teams: England, Delhi Daredevils, England Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders, Middlesex, Wellington
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20s Record: 71 Matches 1689 runs, 79 high score and 25 catches
Ishant Sharma:
Still in his teens when he made his debut for India, Ishant Sharma first hit the spotlight when he troubled Australian captain Ricky Ponting in a Test match in Australia. That spell in the Perth Test in was described by Ponting himself as one of the most testing spells he had faced in his career. From there on, Ishant has only gotten better; he has shown he has a penchant for learning and has picked up the tricks of the trade pretty quick enough to have become one of the mainstays of the Indian bowling attack.
Major teams: India, Delhi, India Red, Kolkata Knight Riders, North Zone
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
T20s Record: 41 Matches 41 runs and 27 wkts
Manoj Tiwary:
Manoj Tiwary symbolises Bengal’s new brand of cricket, one built on youth and fearlessness. Within two years of first-class cricket, he has become the most talked-about name outside the Indian team, a refreshing fact in this day and age when it’s largely international players and Under-19 stars who get most of the attention. Tiwary has a minimalistic approach towards batting; bowlers are meant to be hit, and the purpose of batting anywhere is to make runs. He goes about doing that in the most aggressive of manners. He has idolised Kevin Pietersen, evident through his mannerism on the field, and favours the front foot more.
Major teams: India, Bengal, Bengal Under-19s, Delhi Daredevils, India Green, India Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
T20s Record: 27 Matches 561 runs, 14 catches and 6 wkts
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