Bold decisions & smart captaincy helps KKR’s turnaround in fortunes

KKR's fortunes has seen a reversal after a woeful three season in the IPL.

 

By Vinay Anand

 

Kolkata Knight Riders’ fortunes has seen a reversal after a woeful three season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). And for the first time in four seasons they stand a realistic chance of making the knock-out.

 

Other than the players themselves and the coaching stuff, here are some of the possible reasons for the upsurge:

 

Revamp the roster

 

Kolkata Knight Riders chose not to retain a single player in their roster for IPL4 after three gut-wrenching seasons in which they failed to make the semis. Joy Bhattacharya, the KKR CEO, maintained: “We wanted a new squad, we wanted to bury the past and the only way to do that was to revamp the entire squad; no stone could remain unturned”.

 

The Knights seem to have profited from the sweeping changes that brought with it a lot of pain and anger in Bengal.

 

The perceived treachery

 

Sourav Ganguly’s exclusion from the Knight Riders camp triggered strong reactions from all across the country. While some considered it an unforgivable snub of an icon, others saw it as a purely decision of a corporate house running a multi-million dollar business venture.

 

While Ganguly’s exclusion is still shrouded in mystery, it was nevertheless apparent that Ganguly became a luxury that KKR could ill afford. The decision of Shah Rukh Khan and his management team seems vindicated as KKR are playing their best brand of cricket this season.

 

Victory can do wonders!

 

After the Ganguly fiasco, crowds in Kolkata burnt posters of those at the helm of the decision. As a result, the turn out for KKR’s games was not great initially. But with Knight Riders thumping their opponents convincingly, the crowds reaffirmed their faith in the team and turned up in large numbers.

 

The Gambhir effect

 

Gautam Gambhir has brought KKR a sense of stability. The southpaw has been steady with his captaincy; nothing extravagant. You can safely say, he has not put a foot wrong, yet.

 

His use of part time bowlers has been astute as also his field placements to put the batsmen under pressure. Gambhir himself has carried his World Cup form into the IPL, scoring briskly all the while, forming the pivot of the middle-order.

 

The ferment Knight

 

Shahrukh Khan, has been present at all matches this year, vehemently putting his faith behind the boys and not interfering in team meetings.

 

One can argue that it’s easier to make an appearance with the team winning, but SRK’s contribution to Kolkata cannot be undermined. He has also stayed away from media glare this season. There have been fewer interviews, press conferences and podcasts, so as to keep the glamour away from the team as much as possible.

 

Breaking the epoch of the past was essential, and the Knights have done it in their own way. It might have stung a few, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Kolkata sure have come a long way and are serious contenders going into the top four.

 

(Vinay Anand, 17, has an uncanny eye for detail. He revers cricket – looking beyond the glamour into the heart of the game where true passion, perseverance and grit meet. To him, there is no greater joy than coming closer to the sport while exploring its intricacies through his writing and treading ahead to establish himself as a writer and presenter)

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