The Indian Premier League franchise cricket team for Kolkata is called Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and her husband Jay Mehta are the franchise’s owners. In Eden Gardens Stadium, the Knight Riders compete.
The team initially qualified for the IPL playoffs in 2011, and as a result of its affiliation with famous owners, it has grown tremendously popular. After defeating Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final, they won the title in 2012. In 2014, they defeated Kings XI Punjab and accomplished the same feat. [ The Knight Riders are the Indian squad with the longest winning run in T20 competitions.
Gautam Gambhir is the team’s all-time highest run scorer while Sunil Narine is the top wicket-taker. [ The team’s motto is Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re (we will perform, battle, and prevail!). and purple and gold are the official colors.
The Kolkata Knight Riders are a strong IPL team, and they have put up some outstanding performances over the years. KkR SWOT Analysis Seven years after their final triumph in 2014, the 2012 and 2014 champions advanced to the finals in 2021. Russell and Narine, two KKR stalwarts who were formerly the team’s rock, currently appear to stumble with their performances, which contributed to KKR’s failure in the previous season.
-Franchise history
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan are standing to each side of Sourav Ganguly holding the emblem of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Based on the Twenty20 style of the game, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) established the cricket competition known as the Indian Premier League in 2007. The first tournament, which took place from April through June 2008, featured eight teams. On February 20, 2008, the teams representing the eight Indian cities were put up for auction in Mumbai. Red, the firm run by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, eventually purchased the Kolkata team.
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan are standing to each side of Sourav Ganguly holding the emblem of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta purchased the film from Chillies Entertainment for a sum of $75.09 million, or about 2.98 billion at the time. The squad’s Icon player was chosen Sourav Ganguly, a former captain of the Indian national team, a West Bengal native, and the current president of the BCCI. The team is named after the well-known American television show Knight Rider from the 1980s.
The team’s ownership group acquired a share in Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel of the Caribbean Premier League in June 2015, and in 2016 the team changed its name to Trinbago Knight Riders. The team has invested in the future Major League Cricket American T20 competition in December 2020.
The Cape Town Knight Riders entered the South African T20 league in 2021, and the CEO of the Knight Riders Group, Venky Mysore, has revealed plans to invest in the ECB’s new competition format, The Hundred.
-Strengths
With numerous ongoing trades and purchases, KKR has nearly relaunched their team for the IPL in 2023. The team can benefit greatly from opening batsman Gurbaz, who has recently excelled in the shorter format.
Rana, who has been a part of Kolkata for many years and has had a fantastic domestic season, is expected to play a good role in the team’s batting with skipper Iyer, who now has ample international experience.
The bowling lineup of the KKR team, which includes Shardul, Umesh, Ferguson, and Russell, is another area of strength for the team.
-Weaknesses
Venkatesh Iyer’s surprising mid-season arrival, whose enormous performance catapulted his club to the finals, was a major factor in KKR’s spectacular run in the second half of the 2021 IPL season, where they made it to the finals after a sluggish start. Venky Iyer, on the other hand, had a dismal performance in the most recent round.
Veteran Knights player Sunil Narine has also caused the Knights some worry because of his recent struggles. Although though Shakib, the No. 1 ODI and T20I player according to the ICC, was selected by Knight in the auction, his recent performance in the shorter form of the game has not been particularly impressive.
-Opportunities
After having a very poor season the previous year, KKR would be hoping to improve their chances in the 16th IPL, and with their knowledgeable captain and several new players like Shardul and Ferguson, they would appear too fancy for their prospects in the title race.
Narayan Jagadeesan, this year’s breakout star of Indian domestic cricket, is another impressive pick for KKR. He edged out Rohit’s greatest individual score of 264 with 277 runs. The Knights are eagerly awaiting his arrival and are hoping that he can provide the KKR middle order with solid resistance.
Not to mention, Andre Russell has a chance to make a return. All cricket fans, not just those who support the Knights, would rejoice at his resurgence. It would be exciting to see him get back to form.
-Threats
The suitable back-up players or replacements for the old starting 11 are lacking for KKR. If any of these players get an injury or must miss time due to an unexpected event or obligation, the KKR frontline players are ineffective.
The Knights squad contains bright young players that show promise, but they lack senior, seasoned players. Their squad’s sparse senior players are in poor physical condition, and their performance hasn’t impressed anyone.
-Squad of the Kolkata Knight Riders:
Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan.
Expected Playing XI:
Venkatesh Iyer, Litton Das, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
IPL 2023 predictions for the Kolkata Knight Riders:
A poor season is anticipated for the KKR Team. Even if they come in last or second last, the season could still be terrible. They rely on the promise of a few players because their squads are not the strongest. If they had a solid plan in place going into the IPL 2023 auction, they may have upgraded their team. Their leading run scorer is anticipated to be Shreyas Iyer. Sunil Narine will also record the most wickets.
