Indian Premier League: Kolkata Knight Riders -- Mystery of the Fading Purple Patch
Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending Indian Premier League champions, didn't do much wrong this season. They started on a positive note and looked good for a spot in the play-offs. However, throughout the tournament, the Gautam Gambhir-led side didn't have the aura of a champion side and looked beatable.
- Jaideep Chakrabarty
- Updated: May 21, 2015 12:54 PM IST
Cricket is a game of fine margins. During the 2015 Indian Premier League, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders found out just that. It's a hard pill to swallow when a team is ousted after racking up 15 points coupled with a positive net run-rate of 0.253. (KKR Messed it Up: Gautam Gambhir)
It was a patchy campaign for the Knights -- they won some improbable games, thanks to the heroics of Andre Russell. Then, they lost to Chennai Super Kings by two runs, conceded one to Royal Challengers Bangalore after scoring 110 runs in 10 overs and went down against Mumbai Indians by five runs in their penultimate match.
The defending champions didn't do much wrong this season -- they started on a positive note and looked good for a spot in the play-offs. However, throughout the tournament, the Gautam Gambhir-led side didn't have the aura of a champion side and looked very beatable. (KKR Have Been Inconsistent: Jacques Kallis)
They looked beatable because they failed to add much meat to their muscle after winning the last edition.
The auctions
The first mistake was made during the auctions. Buying Brad Hogg and James Neesham were steals but the rest of the auction were a damp squib for Shah Rukh Khan's men in purple. They bought Sumit Narwal, KC Cariappa, Sheldon Jackson and Vaibhav Rawal.
Except Kariappa, the rest didn't even get a seat in the dug-out.
Sunil Narine and the obsession with 'mystery' spinners
KKR's biggest faux pas. (Narine is not a Mystery Bowler: Gautam Gambhir)
They started the trend with Ajantha Mendis, then they got Sunil Narine and now, they have Cariappa -- KKR have been obsessed with 'mystery' spinners. Narine won them the last IPL but this time, with BCCI keeping a close tab on his elbow veiled in his full sleeve shirt, there were lesser corners to cut.
The Narine-controversy was a set-back but KKR ought to have been prepared for it. They brought in an outdated Johan Botha as cover.
With Narine in BCCI's freezer, the Kolkata bowling attack looked cold until Hogg arrived on the scene.
Losing the 'Opening' bouts
Last season, KKR's victories were scripted by the opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Gambhir. The man from Bangalore had eight consecutive scores above 40 and was Kolkata's man of the tournament. This time, Gambhir had a few good digs but Uthappa's campaign fell flat on the face.
In 2014, Uthappa scored 660 runs at an average of 44.00. In 2015, he could only manage just 364 at an average of 30.33.
Clearly, Robin failed to be KKR's batman!
Lack of quality Indian youth brigade
While Mumbai unleashed a Hardik Pandya, Chennai unearthed Pawan Negi, Bangalore nurtured a Yuzvendra Chahal, Kolkata's still banking on Manish Pandey to come good. The flamboyant Surya Kumar Yadav was handed over the vice-captaincy but except a couple of sprightly cameos, the Indian 'AB de Villiers' fell way short of the mark.
Their most talented youngster Kuldeep Yadav never took the substitute's bib off and spent his time on the sidelines learning the tricks from 'Chinaman' Hogg.
Bizarre team selections
Azhar Mahmood is a fantastic T20 player. He roams the world plying his trade in the shortest format of the game but fielding him in a must-win game showcased a clear lack of judgement.
Even worse was sidelining the in-form Hogg. Kolkata depend heavily of Narine's mastery but dropping Hogg was one of the most bizarre decisions taken by the Knights. Narine claimed a four-for against a hapless Punjab side but Hogg's utility as a wicket-taker was missed in the must-win game against Mumbai.
Looking ahead
Kolkata need to beef up. They need to push aside the dead-woods like the Manish Pandeys and Ryan ten Doeschates to make way for young talent. New Zealander Neesham should be retained and Kuldeep Yadav should be the man replacing Hogg. The middle-order has to look beyond Yusuf Pathan and Gambhir might need to rethink his role as a captain.
The Knights have an entire year to sit back, contemplate and rebuild. The purple patch is fading, hope Mr. Khan is watching closely!