Kolkata Knight Riders Team Preview - Records, Journey, IPL 2021 Squad & Schedule

Kolkata Knight Riders are being led by the England's World Cup-winning Eoin Morgan in IPL 2021. The management has added back some of the old players and a few new forces for their 2021 campaign. 

KKR won their maiden IPL trophy in 2012 and won another two years later. Since then, they haven't been able to perform to their capabilities. KKR would be desperately looking for their third title this season. 

This time around, they'd be eyeing the title with the quality of foreign and Indian players they have. 

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad For IPL 2021

• Batsmen: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Rahul Tripathi, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill.
• All-Rounders: Shakib al Hasan, Andre Russell, Ben Cutting, Pavan Negi, Venkatesh Iyer, Shivam Mavi
• Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.
• Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Vaibhav Arora, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

KKR's IPL Records

• KKR hold the record for having the longest winning streak among other IPL teams. After winning just 2 out of the first 7 matches in the IPL 2014, KKR managed to win 9 matches on the trot and then went on to win the IPL trophy. They won their first match in the 2015 season by defeating Mumbai Indians which took their streak to 10. 
• KKR also hold the record for the highest run chase in an IPL final. They chased down a target of 200 in the IPL 2014 final to win their second IPL title.
• KKR has dismissed a team for the lowest total in the IPL. In 2017, KKR bowled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a mere 49 runs, allowing no opposition batsmen to reach the double figures.
• Dinesh Karthik, the vice-captain of the Kolkata-based franchise is the highest run-scorer for them. He has scored 3,823 runs in the IPL, averaging 26.00 at a strike rate of 129.63.
• KKR added veteran Harbhajan Singh to the squad in IPL Auction 2021, who's the highest wicket-taker with 150 wickets in 160 matches. He averages 26.44 at an economy of 7.05 in the IPL.
• Overall Record in IPL:
  • Matches Played: 196
  • Wins: 98
  • Losses: 90
  • No Result: 4
  • Win Rate: 51.56%

 

IPL Journey Of Kolkata Knight Riders

• 2008: Won 6 and Lost 7 matches. Finished 6th in the first season of the IPL.
• 2009: Won 3 matches and lost 10. Finished last in the final League Standings.
• 2010: Won 7 and Lost 7 matches. Failed to reach the semis and finished 6th.
• 2011: Won 8 and lost 7 matches. Finished 4th after getting defeated by the Mumbai Indians in the Playoffs Eliminator match.
• 2012: Won 12 and lost 5 matches. Won their maiden IPL title after defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final.
• 2013: Had a forgetful season after winning their maiden trophy. Won 6 and lost 10 matches, finishing 7th in the final standings.
• 2014: Managed to come back from their disastrous performance of last year, won the IPL Trophy for the second time. After losing 5 out of the first 7 matches, they won 9 consecutive matches to win the title.
• 2015: Won 7 matches and lost 6. Finished on the 5th spot. 
• 2016: Won 8 and lost 7 matches. Finished 4th in the league standings, after again getting defeated in the Eliminator, by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• 2017: Won 9 and lost 7 matches. Finished 3rd. This time, they won the eliminator match but were defeated by Mumbai Indians in the 2nd Qualifier.
• 2018: Repeating the performance from the last season, they again won9 and lost 7 matches. Finished 3rd again after winning the eliminator and getting defeated in Qualifier 2 by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• 2019: Won 6 and lost 8 matches. Finished 5th in the Final Standings. 
• 2020: Won 7 & lost 7 matches. Finished at the 5th spot again. 

Kolkata Knight Riders' strength this season would the overseas players that they have in the squad. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been the biggest game-changers for the KKR in the past. Captain Morgan would be looking at bringing the third IPL trophy in the KKR's trophy cabinet. Pat Cummins, the team's most expensive player, would be hoping to have a good season, given that the mega IPL auction is just next year. Lockie Ferguson had an impressive IPL 2020 and would be hoping to replicate the same this season as well. The addition of Ben Cutting and Tim Seifert would strengthen the squad even further, while Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is making his comeback to the Kolkata franchise. Ben Cutting's presence can be counted as a strong backup for Andre Russell. 

KKR's weakness will be a proper backup option for Dinesh Karthik. He is a finisher and slogs well in the death overs. However, if he misses out on few matches, there would an inconvenience in the selection of playing XI. Sheldon Jackson is the backup wicketkeeper option, but his IPL record isn't something he would be proud of. In this case, to get a finisher, KKR might bring in Karun Nair or Rinku Singh, with Tim Seifert as the keeper, and thus an Indian in the top order would be benched. 

KKR has serious uncapped talent on their side that can shine this IPL. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi in batting, while Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, and Sandeep Warrier in the bowling can shine for the Knight Riders are the players to watch out for in IPL 2021. 

Threat to KKR's chances could be their spin department. Of course, they have Sunil Narine, but he hasn't been that effective since he had to change his action. Kuldeep Yadav is going through a rough patch and isn't getting any wickets. Shakib Al Hasan has suffered multiple injuries in the West Indies tour while Harbhajan Singh has been out of action for quite some time now. Last season's wonder Varun Chakravarthy has also been suffering from injuries and it would be intriguing to see if he can replicate his last season's performance.

Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2021 Schedule

• 11th April: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chennai
• 13th April: vs Mumbai Indians at Chennai 
• 18th April: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai (at 4 PM)
• 21st April: vs Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai
• 24th April: vs Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai
• 26th April: vs Punjab Kings at Ahmedabad
• 29th April: vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Ahmedabad
• 3rd May: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Ahmedabad
• 8th May: vs Delhi Capitals at Ahmedabad (at 4 PM)
• 10th May: vs Mumbai Indians at Bangalore
• 12th May: vs Chennai Super Kings at Bangalore
• 15th May: vs Punjab Kings at Bangalore 
• 18th May: vs Rajasthan Royals at Bangalore 
• 21st May: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Bangalore (at 4 PM)

Also Read - Delhi Capitals Team Preview - Records, Journey, IPL 2021 Squad & Schedule