Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata, the city of Joy, is the third-most populous metropolitan city in India. Not only is it a pioneer in the field of drama, arts, theatre, and literature, but it also has made its name in the field of cricket with its very own IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders.
With the team’s official theme, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re, they have held the record of the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s. The Kolkata Knight Riders started back in the year 2008 and were among the eight teams to have participated in the 2008 Indian Premier League.
Kolkata Knight Riders Owner
The Kolkata Knight Riders team is jointly owned by three prominent personalities: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Jay Mehta, who is an Indian businessman, and Juhi Chawla's spouse. You must have heard about The Red Chilies Entertainment (55%), which cooperatively owns KKR with the Mehta Group (45%). Taking a dig into their careers will tell you about how big an influence they have in Bollywood. On one hand, where King Khan has appeared in at least 101 films, on the other, Juhi Chawla has appeared in around 85 plus films, and both have won hearts and numerous Filmfare Awards.
Talking a little more about the Kolkata Knight Riders owners: Khan did his schooling at St. Columba's School in Central Delhi. He excelled in academics and sports such as hockey and football and received the school's highest award, the Sword of Honor. Khan has a net worth of around 600 million dollars.
Juhi Chawla is an actress, film producer, and entrepreneur who completed her schooling at Fort Convent School, Mumbai, and has graduated with a specialization in HR. Her net worth is around 350 million dollars.
Jay Mehta is the son of Mahendra Mehta and Sunayana Mehta and the grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, the prestigious owner of The Mehta Group, which has its wings in Africa, India, Canada, and the US. He has done his schooling at Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The Kolkata Knight Riders owners have been a part of many prestigious events and have received several awards and appreciation worldwide.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad History
Based on the T20 format of the game, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) created the cricket tournament Indian Premier League in the year 2007. Eight teams participated in the maiden tournament held in April – June 2008. The KKR team representing the eight different Indian cities were put up on auction in Mumbai on 20 February 2008. Sourav Ganguly, a native of West Bengal and the current President of BCCI, was the former captain of the Indian National team. Ganguly was named the icon player of the KolKata Knight Riders IPL Squad. The name of the team has been taken from the popular 1980s American television series Knight Rider.
In the 2008 IPL, Kolkata was captained by Sourav Ganguly. It was not a very satisfactory league for Kolkata, having started in the most explosive way possible. Still, the KKR team ended at the 6th position with six wins and seven losses. Akhtar and Ganguly tried to get the KKR team back in the game but went on to lose three matches in a row. The captain topped the run-charts while Umar Gul emanated as the leading wicket-keeper.
The second season (2009 IPL) was an absolute disaster. The 2009 edition in South Africa captained by Brendon McCullum by far is Kolkata’s worst performance. That year, the IPL Kolkata Knight Riders had eminent players like Chris Gayle, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, and others. They had successfully won their second match but lost to Rajasthan Royals in a super over. The KKR team had to face nine successive losses, and KKR could only cite three wins and ended in eighth and the last spot.
In the first two seasons of the IPL (2008 and 2009), Mumbai swept Kolkata in all four games.
In the third season (2010 IPL), Ganguly retained captaincy, and Buchanan was asked to vacate the post of the coach. There were changes made in the team: Dav Whatmore was the new coach of the team, and KKR also added New Zealand's speedster Shane Bond to the list. The season well with two consecutive wins soon dropped down in the points table with three successive losses.
The Kolkata Knight Riders IPL squad kept their game alive till the playoffs by following their game up with few wins and losses but unfortunately, by the end of the season, due to their negative net run-rate, they knocked off the competition and secured their place in the sixth position.
The 2011 IPL had the most controversial sacking in the history of IPL when the Kolkata Knight Riders Players franchise bought the Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir to replace Ganguly. Not only the captain but also the player roster for the KKR team faced a change. Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis were the new inclusions. The change proved to be quite beneficial because, by the end of the season, KKR ended in the 4th spot in the tournament with eight wins in 14 matches and successfully qualified for the playoffs for the first time but got eliminated against the Mumbai Indians.
In the fifth season (2012 IPL), the KolKata Knight Riders IPL squad managed to achieve the best result possible after having a satisfactory fourth season that boosted their confidence. All the negativity and hatred cast away after the championship in 2012. The KKR team bought the mystery spinner Sunil Narine and the explosive batsman Brendon McCullum. Gambhir’s team acquired the second spot in the league with 10 wins from 16 matches. They had successfully defeated Delhi Daredevils and CSK in the games and incised their name on the trophy. Narine picked up 24 wickets, and the new captain topped the run-charts.
The sixth season (2013 IPL) was not very lucky for the IPL Knight Riders players. They capitulated to the 7th position and did not qualify for the playoffs. The team won over DD at the beginning of the league but later managed to win only a single one of the next six matches. They only had six wins in 16 matches that year.
The seventh season of the IPL in 2014 was the season of KKR’s second championship. They retained Gambhir and Narine. The auction of the IPL Kolkata Knight Riders squad resulted in the owners buying back their gun players Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis. KKR also signed the batsman from Karnataka Robin Uthappa and the Australian sensation Chris Lynn.
The UAE league began with the KKR team winning over MI but soon lost three of the next 4 matches. They finally made a place in the second spot in the league stage with nine wins from 14 games. Finally, the Kolkata Knight Riders players squad earned victory over the Kings IX Punjab twice (Qualifier one and the Finals) to win the championship for the second time. Uthappa was awarded the orange cap as he finished as the highest run-getter of the tournament, while Narine topped the wickets list with 21 scalps.
In the 2015 IPL season, the Riders missed out on the qualification for the playoff and ended in the fifth spot. Andre Russell was the T20 superstar of the season and became the man of the match thrice. The KKR team lost six matches out of 14, which stalled them in the fifth position.
The ninth season (2016 IPL) brought a new change of authority for the team. Kallis left his player’s boot to coach the team for further matches. Wasim Akram was the team's bowling coach. The tournament was satisfactory, and they ended up with more wins than losses. The IPL Kolkata Knight Riders Squad team finished in 4th position and enjoyed eight wins from 14 matches. Gambhir once again topped the run-charts and Russell impressed everyone with 15 wickets.
The tenth season (2017 IPL) came down as a blow for KKR. Russell faced a year-ban for violating ICC’s doping code. He was soon replaced by new players like Grandhomme, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, and Darren Bravo. The Kolkata Knight Riders players squad played remarkable matches that year, the most praise-worthy being at their very home ground Eden Gardens against RCB. Kolkata had 8 wins under the belt and ended up in fourth place, and qualified for the playoffs. They lost to Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier.
A major change took place in the eleventh season (2018 IPL). Gambhir was replaced by Dinesh Karthik, and under his leadership, KKR ended in third place that year. New Captain was the highest run-getter in the season, whereas Kuldeep-Narine finished as joint-highest wicket-takers. Even though the Kolkata knight riders’ squad was small in the league, they ended well.
The twelfth season (2019 IPL) was the last season of Karthik's captaincy, and the team had the fifth spot in the league. The 2020 IPL: the thirteenth season saw Eoin Morgan as KKR's new captain, and again the team ended in fifth place.
Kolkata Knight Rider Players
KKR always has had a balanced team with the best of the young talents from India and overseas. Be it in batting or bowling, the Kolkata Knight Riders squad has maintained a very decent position. Throughout this team’s journey, KKR has been led by many prominent players, and Gautam Gambhir has led the team the longest. On taking a closer look, it can be seen that Sourav Ganguly has led the KKR team: the former captain of the Indian cricket team and the BCCI president, followed by McCullum, Gambhir, Karthik, and now Morgan.
When it comes to the KKR team 2020, it is a solid combination of right players. Considering batting first, the team is led by Captain Morgan, young talents like Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Siddhesh Lad, and all-rounders Andre Russell, Tom Banton, Sunil Narine.
Even in the case of bowling or wicket keeping, the KKR team 2020 has several players like Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Kuldeep Yadav, etc. the wicket-keepers include Dinesh Karthik, Tom Banton, etc. Kolkata Knight Riders 2020 team helped the kkr team to achieve fifth place in the IPL.
Kolkata Knight Riders team 2020 had a squad size of 23, and many new players were bought: Eoin Morgan (5.25 crore); Pat Cummins (15.5 crores); Rahul Tripathi(60 lakh); Varun Chakravarthy (4 crores); M Siddharth (20 lakh); Chris Green (20 lakh); Tom Banton (1 crore); Pravin Tambe (20 lakh); Nikhil Naik (20 lakh).
The KKR team 2020 also retained many players like Rinku Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh nagarkoti, Harry Gurney, Sandeep Warrier, Nitish Rana, Lockie Ferguson, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Dinesh Karthik.
Kolkata Knight Riders Statistics
Kolkata Knight Riders squad have always maintained a decent position in the IPL seasons. The Kolkata Knight Riders IPL journey’s curve grew when the team managed to take away the trophy twice (2012, 2014) and has been improving in their skills each year. The statistics of KKR look as follows:
- Starting from 2008, the IPL team’s win percentage was 42.85% which was not that great a start for KKR. Out of 14 matches that they played, they managed 6 wins and 7 losses. The Kolkata Knight Riders squad finished in sixth place towards the bottom of the table.
- The next season (2009 IPL) was disappointing for the KKR team. In this season, KKR is said to have performed the worst so far. The win percentage that year was 21.42% which was disastrous. They were placed last in the points table, having lost 10 matches and winning only 3 out of 14 matches. The KKR team had a tie but lost the match.
- In the next season (2010 IPL), the win percentage of the team was 50.00%, with an equal number of wins and losses. There were no ties, and finally the team stood sixth in the points table.
- A lot changed for the Kolkata Knight Riders players in the next season (2011 IPL) when they, for the first time, made it to the playoffs with a winning percentage of 53.33%, which is more than the average and got the fourth place in the table.
- 2012 IPL was the season of the championship. The Kolkata Knight Riders had a win percentage of 66.66% and topped the points table with 12 wins and 5 losses.
- The results dropped again in 2013 IPL and had a win percentage of 37.50% and were seen at the bottom again.
- KKR kick-started the 2014 IPL and were declared champions yet once again and won 11 matches out of 16 and had a terrific win percentage of 68.75%.
- With a win percent of 50%, the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL squad managed fifth place in the 2015 IPL.
- The next three seasons (2016, 2017, and 2018) were pretty good for KKR, and they had qualified for the playoffs in all the 3 having a win percent of 53.33%, 56.25%, and 56.25%, respectively.
- The last two seasons (2019, 2020) showed a slight drop in the winning percent (42.86%, 50%, respectively), and they managed the fifth spot in both seasons.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad for IPL 2021
IPL 2021 is knocking at the doors, and people are eagerly waiting to see their favorite team take the cup away. The squad looks great and is filled with young talents accompanied by the most experienced players.
KKR has retained many players but also has made notable changes in the team. Like the Kolkata Knight Riders team 2020, the 2021 squad is not very different. Captain Eoin Morgan followed by Vaibhav Arora, Pat Cummins, Ben Cutting, Lockie Ferguson, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Karun Nair, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, etc. The team looks great and is waiting to give a tough competition to the other teams in IPL 2021.
KKR Squad: Players to Watch Out
These guys have always given tough competition to competitors. The Kolkata Knight Riders team 2020-2021 have now conjured a perfect balance of batting, bowling, and wicket keeping. The recent squad looks very energetic and filled with zest. If you look closely, anyone will be able to figure out how hardworking the team is. With the new season crashing, here is a quick look who has to be looked out for:
Shubman Gill
The 21-year-old new player has set the bar of cricket rather high. He made his IPL debut in 2018 and is playing for KKR. One of his best knocks came against Mumbai Indians, where he scored a quick-fire 45-ball 76 to lay. Shubham Gill was also awarded the Emerging Player of the Year in IPL last year. He has scored 939 runs in 41 matches and made jaws drop.
Dinesh Karthik
Former captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders made his IPL debut under Delhi in 2008 but has been a promising player for the team since the last two seasons. He has scored a total of 3823 runs in 196 matches. He’s a right-handed batsman, an off-break bowler, a wicket-keeper, and a valuable asset to the team.
Nitish Rana
This left-handed batsman had often stepped on the grass when the team needed acceleration. Nitish Rana is often touted as the most reliable player scoring 1437 runs in 60 matches and successfully taking 7 wickets. His crucial 63 off 34 with an SR 185.29 against Punjab is a classic example of how an innings should be placed.
Sunil Narine
In the IPL, he has scored 771 runs and has had a staggering SR of 168.3. His recent performance at the Caribbean Premier League for Trinbago Knight Riders reminds the fans why Kolkata Knight Riders team 2020-21 can’t imagine a squad without this man and has not let go of him since 2012. He is an invaluable asset to the team. This left-handed off-break bowler has amused his fans with his batting and has successfully taken 127 wickets.
Eoin Morgan
This year Morgan is leading the team and is considered one of the best buys of the season. Morgan is a man of the extraordinary skill of batting and leadership. He reshaped the entire English side with his bold captaincy and aggressive batting.
Kolkata IPL team
The Kolkata Knight Riders are a franchise team representing the city of Kolkata in the IPL and have been there since 2008. KKR has had two successful IPL wins and is now being led by the Irish-born cricketer Eoin Morgan. The team hit the IPL playoffs for the first time in 2011. The home ground of KKR, Eden Gardens, the team has held a record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in the T20s. The official color of this team is purple, and gold and KKR are owned jointly by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and her spouse Jay Mehta.
FAQ’s on Kolkata Knight Riders
Following are certain FAQs regarding Kolkata Knight Riders and the Indian Premier League: -
Who is the owner of KKR?
Kolkata Knight Riders is a franchise owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and her spouse Jay Mehta. Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla are eminent personalities in the Bollywood industry, and Jay Mehta is an Indian businessman.
Who is the best player of Kolkata Knight Riders?
When we talk about the best player, it can be based on different perspectives like the highest strike rate, the number of runs scored, the number of wickets taken etc. Some of the best of Kolkata Knight Riders players 2020, according to kkr news, are Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine.
Is Kolkata Knight Riders a good team?
Kolkata Knight Riders is considered one of the most entertaining IPL teams and gained immense popularity because of its owners. This team has won the championship two times (2012, 2014) and also holds the record of the longest winning streak in the T20s. KKR have had massive wins against CSK in 2012 with a winning score of 192/5 and in 2014 against KXIP with a score of 200/7.
Is KKR disqualified?
Player Pravin Tambe, the leg-spinner of Kolkata Knight Riders was all set to be the oldest player in IPL but could not participate in matches because he was disqualified. As per the BCCI, Indian Players cannot take part in any other league apart from IPL and since Tambe was a part of the T10 league in 2018 hence he was barred from playing IPL. KKR will be a part of the 2021 IPL season and the team has not been disqualified.
What is Kolkata Knight Riders worth?
The brand value of KKR was estimated at 104 million US dollars in 2018 which happened to be the second highest among IPL franchises. However, in 2019 the value of Kolkata Knight Riders squad was estimated at Rs. 629 Cr (88 million US dollars).
Can Kolkata qualify for the playoffs?
KKR under Gambhir’s captaincy had for the first time qualified for the playoffs in 2011 but could not make it to the finals. They managed the fourth spot in the points table in 2011 IPL. KKR team had qualified for 2016, 2017 and 2018 playoffs. The playoffs highly depend on the matches won, and the wins are very uncertain as of now. KKR has to have a striking NRR to qualify for the playoffs in the future seasons.
Who will be the Captain of KKR in 2021?
KKR is one of the 8 IPL teams that will compete in the 2021 IPL season. The Kolkata Knight Riders team had qualified for the playoffs under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir in 2011 and have also won the championship twice under him (2012, 2014). This year, fans have high hopes from the team’s new captain Eoin Morgan. He is an Irish-born cricketer who captains the England Cricket team in limited overs.
Is Kolkata Knight Riders out of IPL 2021?
According to the latest KKR news, the team is not out of IPL 2021 and will very much be a part of the league. Kolkata Knight Riders players have been working hard through the years and have always managed a fair spot in the points table. The two-time champions are very much ready to compete with the other teams in the new IPL season.
Which is the richest franchise in IPL?
Mumbai Indians was the leading franchise in 2020 with a worth of over 70 million US Dollars. The team is owned by India’s biggest agglomerate, Reliance Industries and is the first team in the league to win three IPL titles.
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