Kolkata Knight Riders KKR
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. The Knight Riders play at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium.
The franchise, which has gained immense popularity due to its association with celebrity owners, qualified for the IPL playoffs for the first time in 2011. They became the IPL champions in 2012, by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final. They repeated the feat in 2014, defeating Kings XI Punjab. The Knight Riders hold the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s (14).
The side's all-time leading run-scorer is Gautam Gambhir, while their leading wicket-taker is Sunil Narine. The official theme of the team is Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re (we will perform, fight and win!) and the official colours are purple and gold. The brand value of the Knight Riders was estimated at $104 million in 2018, second highest among IPL franchises. In 2019, their value was estimated at ₹629 crore (US$88 million).
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
Multinational communications corporation Nokia was the official founding sponsor of the Kolkata Knight Riders and remained their principal sponsor until 2014. In 2015, Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Gionee took over as their principal sponsor and signed a three-year deal worth ₹540 million (US$7.6 million). In 2018, Nokia returned as the main sponsor of the Knight Riders, signing a two-year deal. Star Plus, Reebok, HDIL, Kit Kat, SB Nation, Doublemint, SAP AG, Asian Paints, Red FM 93.5, The Telegraph, Seiko, U.S. Polo Assn., Uber, Dish TV, Sansui Electric, Ola Cabs, Exide, Ibibo, Sprite, Dream11, Pepsi, Sony Music India, Royal Stag, Greenply, MoneyGram, Fever 104 FM and Pocari Sweat have all formerly been either co-sponsors or partners.
In 2020, MPL became their principal sponsor. As of 2021, they have co-sponsorship deals with Jio, Lux Cozi, Colgate, Pentonic and Unacademy along with others. They also have partnerships with Kotak Mahindra Bank, BKT Tyres, Kingfisher Calendar and Amul Kool.
| Year | Kit Manufacturers | Shirt Sponsor (Front) | Shirt Sponsor (Back) | Chest Branding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Reebok | Nokia | HDIL | Reebok |
| 2009 | StarPlus | |||
| 2010 | Matrix | |||
| 2011 | ||||
| 2012 | Rose Valley | |||
| 2013 | ||||
| 2014 | U.S. Polo Assn. | Sansui | U.S. Polo Assn. | |
| 2015 | Gionee | |||
| 2016 | Lux Cozi | Lux Cozi | ||
| 2017 | Jio | |||
| 2018 | Nokia | |||
| 2019 | ||||
| 2020 | MPL | |||
| 2021 | Wrogn Active | Unacademy |
Players
Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team was the icon player and led the franchise in the 2008 and 2010 seasons. Brendon McCullum led the team in the intervening period. Both captains were released before the 2011 season. The former team included all-rounders Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Angelo Mathews, batsman Ricky Ponting and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. The main bowlers were Umar Gul, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Karthik. Australian batsman Brad Hodge and bowlers Ajantha Mendis and Charl Langeveldt were bought outside the IPL auction in late 2008.
At the 2009 auction, the team bought Bangladeshi all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza at a whopping price of $600,000. Due to the unavailability of Pakistani players starting 2009, KKR had to suspend the contract of Umar Gul, who was a key performer from the 2008 season. On 26 April 2009, KKR administration sent back two of its players Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar on the premises of poor performance. Shane Bond was acquired after releasing Ricky Ponting, Morne van Wyk and the Pakistani players Umar Gul, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Akhtar before the third season. Moises Henriques was traded to Delhi in return for Owais Shah and Manoj Tiwary. Thus, their overseas roster for the 2010 season consisted of Shane Bond, Mashrafe Mortaza, Brendon McCullum, Charl Langeveldt, Ajantha Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Owais Shah and Chris Gayle.
2011 heralded the beginning of a new era for KKR. In the 2011 season, KKR drastically revamped their squad. Former captain and icon player Sourav Ganguly was not purchased in the January auction. This led to protest rallies, signature campaigns throughout the country and abroad along with stadium protests by various fan groups, such as 'No Dada No KKR', which received both national and international press attention. The team appointed Gautam Gambhir, who was bought for a record-breaking $2.4 million as skipper. Yusuf Pathan was also picked up for a whopping $2.1 million. Other international names who were added include Shakib Al Hasan, Brad Haddin, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Ryan ten Doeschate, Eoin Morgan and James Pattinson. Haddin was replaced by Mark Boucher mid-season due to injury.
In the 2012 auction, KKR bought back their former captain, Brendon McCullum. They also acquired West Indian spinner Sunil Narine and South African fast bowler Marchant de Lange.
The team later added four domestic players to their squad, including Debabrata Das and Iresh Saxena from Bengal, Saurashtra's Chirag Jani and Sanju Samson from Kerala. However, in November 2012, KKR released the latter three from their team along with Jaydev Unadkat, a key performer from the previous seasons. In the 2013 auction, the team acquired only two overseas players, Sachithra Senanayake and Ryan McLaren.
Before the February 2014 auction, the team had only retained their key performers Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine. From the auctions that took place, the team brought back Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan with their right-to-match (RTM) card. Also keeping their place in the squad were Ryan ten Doeschate and Shakib Al Hasan. New international players were Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins and Chris Lynn. Prominent Indian players bought included Robin Uthappa, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav and Piyush Chawla.
KKR's impressive additions in the 2015 auction were veteran Australian bowler Brad Hogg and wicket-keeper Sheldon Jackson. Before the auction in February 2016, they released Ryan ten Doeschate who was a part of their team for five consecutive seasons along with pace bowler Pat Cummins. The Knight Riders were particularly noted for their change in approach from the previous auctions where they had concentrated on spinners. For the 2016 edition, however, they acquired as many as six pacers in the form of all-rounders John Hastings, Colin Munro, Jason Holder and Rajagopal Sathish as well as bowlers Ankit Rajpoot and Jaydev Unadkat, with the latter being a former player of the squad. They signed one spinner Manan Sharma. Before the 2017 auctions, they released Morne Morkel, Brad Hogg, Jason Holder, Colin Munro, John Hastings, Jaydev Unadkat, Rajagopal Sathish, Manan Sharma and replacement signing Shaun Tait. From the 2017 Indian Premier League auction, they signed Trent Boult, English all-rounder Chris Woakes, Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile, West Indian Darren Bravo and Jamaican Rovman Powell. The domestic players signed were Rishi Dhawan, Ishank Jaggi, Sayan Ghosh and R Sanjay Yadav. At the time, Andre Russell was banned for one year for doping; he was replaced by Colin de Grandhomme for the season. In January 2018, they only retained West Indian cricketers Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Their two-time title winning captain Gautam Gambhir was released. At the auction, they retained Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav using RTM (Right-To-Match) card. KKR also bought back their impressive opener Chris Lynn and uncapped Indian batsman Ishank Jaggi. Other uncapped batsmen bought were Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Cameron Delport, Rinku Singh and Apoorv Wankhade. They also bought West Indian uncapped all-rounder Javon Searles and uncapped Indian all-rounders Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi. Other signings were veteran Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik, Australian pace bowlers Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson and former Knight Riders player Vinay Kumar.
On 4 March 2018, Dinesh Karthik was appointed as the captain of KKR for IPL 2018 and Robin Uthappa was named vice-captain. Mitchell Starc was ruled out before the season due to injury and Tom Curran was announced as his replacement. Ahead of the auction for IPL 2019, eight players were released from the squad including Mitchell Starc and his replacement Tom Curran.
At the auction, their high-profile buys were Carlos Brathwaite for ₹50 million (US$700,000) and New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson for ₹16 million (US$220,000). Other players bought were South African pacer Anrich Nortje, English duo Harry Gurney and Joe Denly as well as uncapped Indian players Nikhil Naik, Prithvi Raj Yarra and Shrikant Mundhe for their base prices of ₹2 million (US$28,000) each. Before IPL 2020, KKR released 11 players from their squad and also traded in Siddhesh Lad from Mumbai Indians.
At the 2020 IPL Auction, KKR bought pace bowler Pat Cummins for ₹15.5 crores. This was the biggest buy in the auction. KKR also purchased Eoin Morgan, who just came off as captain of the World Cup winning England squad. He was bought for ₹5.25 crores. On 16 October 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik handed over Kolkata Knight Riders' captaincy to Eoin Morgan.
Seasons
| Season | League standing | Final standing |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6th out of 8 | League stage |
| 2009 | 8th out of 8 | League stage |
| 2010 | 6th out of 8 | League stage |
| 2011 | 4th out of 10 | Playoffs |
| 2012 | 1st out of 9 | Champions |
| 2013 | 7th out of 9 | League stage |
| 2014 | 1st out of 8 | Champions |
| 2015 | 5th out of 8 | League stage |
| 2016 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2017 | 3rd out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2018 | 3rd out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2019 | 5th out of 8 | League stage |
| 2020 | 5th out of 8 | League stage |
The Knight Riders qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 in 2011, 2012 and 2014, which was the last edition of the tournament before it being permanently called off. The team was eliminated in the group stage in 2011 and 2012, but finished as runners-up in the ultimate season.
Current squad
- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
- * denotes a player who is currently unavailable for selection.
- * denotes a player who is unavailable for rest of the season.
| No. | Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Signed year | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||||
| 16 | Eoin Morgan |  | 10 September 1986 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | 2020 | ₹5.25 crore (US$736,000) | Overseas; Captain |
| 27 | Nitish Rana |  | 27 December 1993 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹3.4 crore (US$477,000) | |
| 35 | Rinku Singh | | 12 October 1997 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹80 lakh (US$112,000) | |
| 52 | Rahul Tripathi | | 2 March 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2020 | ₹60 lakh (US$84,000) | |
| 77 | Shubman Gill | | 8 September 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹1.8 crore (US$252,000) | |
| N/A | Karun Nair | | 6 December 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | ₹50 lakh (US$70,000) | |
| N/A | Gurkeerat Singh | | 29 June 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | ₹50 lakh (US$70,000) | Replacement signing[50] |
| All-rounders | ||||||||
| 5 | Kamlesh Nagarkoti | | 28 December 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2018 | ₹3.2 crore (US$449,000) | |
| 12 | Andre Russell |  | 29 April 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹7 crore (US$981,400.00) | Overseas |
| N/A | Shakib Al Hasan |  | 24 March 1987 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2021 | ₹3.2 crore (US$448,640.00) | Overseas |
| N/A | Ben Cutting |  | 30 January 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2021 | ₹75 lakh (US$105,150.00) | Overseas |
| N/A | Pawan Negi | | 6 January 1993 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2021 | ₹50 lakh (US$70,100.00) | |
| N/A | Venkatesh Iyer | | 25 December 1994 | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2021 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,000) | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||||
| 19 | Dinesh Karthik | | 1 June 1985 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹7.4 crore (US$1.0 million) | Vice-captain |
| 43 | Tim Seifert |  | 14 December 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2020 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,000) | Overseas |
| N/A | Sheldon Jackson | | 27 September 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,040.00) | |
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||||
| 23 | Kuldeep Yadav | | 14 December 1994 | Left-handed | Left-arm unorthodox | 2018 | ₹5.8 crore (US$813,000) | |
| 29 | Varun Chakravarthy | | 29 August 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2020 | ₹4 crore (US$560,000) | |
| 74 | Sunil Narine |  | 26 May 1988 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹8.5 crore (US$1.2 million) | Overseas |
| N/A | Harbhajan Singh | | 3 July 1980 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | ₹2 crore (US$280,000) | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||||||
| 24 | Prasidh Krishna | | 19 February 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,000) | |
| 26 | Shivam Mavi | | 26 November 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹3 crore (US$421,000) | |
| 30 | Pat Cummins | | 8 May 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2020 | ₹15.5 crore (US$2.2 million) | Overseas |
| 63 | Sandeep Warrier | | 4 April 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,000) | |
| 69 | Lockie Ferguson | | 13 June 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2019 | ₹1.6 crore (US$220,000) | Overseas |
| N/A | Vaibhav Arora | | 14 December 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2021 | ₹20 lakh (US$28,000) | |
Administration and support staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Owner | Shah Rukh Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment), Jay Mehta, Juhi Chawla (Mehta Group) |
| CEO and managing director | Venky Mysore |
| Team manager |  Wayne Bentley |
| Head coach | Brendon McCullum |
| Assistant coach | Abhishek Nayar |
| Mentor | David Hussey |
| Bowling coach | Kyle Mills |
| Assistant bowling coach | Omkar Salvi |
| Spin bowling consultant | Pravin Tambe |
| Fielding coach | |
| Physiotherapist | Kamlesh Jain |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Chris Donaldson |
| Data and video analyst | AR Srikkanth |
| Strategic consultant |
|
Head coaches
| Dates | Coach |
|---|---|
| 2008–2009 | John Buchanan |
| 2010–2011 | Dav Whatmore |
| 2012–2015 | Trevor Bayliss |
| 2016–2019 |  Jacques Kallis |
| 2020–present | Brendon McCullum |
Captains
| Dates | Captain |
|---|---|
| 2008, 2010 | Sourav Ganguly |
| 2009 | Brendon McCullum |
| 2011–2017 | Gautam Gambhir |
| 2018–2020 | Dinesh Karthik |
| 2020–present | Eoin Morgan |
Statistics
Overall results
Updated as of 1 November 2020
| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied | NR | Win % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 46.16 | 6/8 |
| 2009 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 23.07 | 8/8 |
| 2010 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | 6/8 |
| 2011 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 53.33 | 4/10 |
| 2012 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 70.58 | 1/9 |
| 2013 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 37.50 | 7/9 |
| 2014 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 | 1/8 |
| 2015 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 53.84 | 5/8 |
| 2016 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 53.33 | 4/8 |
| 2017 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 | 3/8 |
| 2018 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 | 3/8 |
| 2019 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 | 5/8 |
| 2020 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | 5/8 |
| Total | 196 | 99 | 93 | 0 | 4 | 51.56 |
- Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)
- Win or loss by super over or boundary count included
Source: ESPNCricinfo[51]
Result summary
Updated as of 1 November 2020[52]
| Opposition | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pune Warriors India | 2011–2013 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Deccan Chargers | 2008–2012 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Rising Pune Supergiant | 2016–2017 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Gujarat Lions | 2016–2017 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Kochi Tuskers Kerala | 2011 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 2008–present | 27 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2013–present | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 60.52 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 2008–2015; 2018–present | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 59.09 |
| Delhi Capitals | 2008–present | 25 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 58.00 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2008–present | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 53.84 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 2008–2015; 2018–present | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 36.36 |
| Mumbai Indians | 2008–present | 27 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 22.22 |
Legend:
- Team now defunct
Overall results in CLT20
| Year | Matches | Wins | Losses | No result | % win | % Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50.00 | 5/10 (13) |
| 2012 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 33.33 | 6/10 (14) |
| 2014 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 | 2/10 (14) |
| Total | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 60.00 |
| Opposition | Span | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No result | % win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Warriors | 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dolphins | 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Hobart Hurricanes | 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 Lahore Lions | 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Nashua Titans | 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Perth Scorchers | 2012–2014 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Auckland Aces | 2011–2012 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 2014 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Somerset Sabres | 2011 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| South Australia Redbacks | 2011 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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