Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders is a franchise team of the Indian Premier League representing the state of Kolkata. The team is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and Jay Mehta. Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the most popular teams in the Indian Premier League, is set to make yet another appearance in the 2023 edition of the IPL.

The squad has a reputation for having a potent batting line-up, and over the years, prominent players like Gautam Gambhir, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Eoin Morgan have all played for them. KKR is also known for its purple and gold colours, which have become synonymous with the team’s identity. Eden’s Garden, the biggest cricket stadium in India serves as the home ground for the team.Founded 15 years ago, on 24th January 2008, the team lifted the trophy twice. First, in 2012 after beating the mighty Chennai Super Kings and a second time in 2014 after outplaying the Kings XI Punjab. There is a high demand for KKR when it comes to online cricket betting in India because of the explosive batting line-up and powerful finishers.

Kolkata Knight Riders is another well-known team from Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders – Team Profile

Full NameKolkata Knight Riders
NicknameKKR
Founded in the Year2008
Home groundEden Gardens
Team ownersShahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta
CaptainShreyas Iyer
Vice-CaptainN/A
CoachChandrakant Pandit
Prominent playersSunil Narine, Andre Russell
JerseyPurple and Golden Jersey
Theme SongKorbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re
Major RivalsRoyal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians
LogoViking Helmet with KKR written underneath

Kolkata Knight Riders History

In the 13 editions of the IPL, KKR reached the IPL playoffs 7 times and managed to win the championship twice.

2008: KKR was one of eight teams that competed in the inaugural season of the IPL. Sourav Ganguly, a prominent Indian cricketer, was appointed as the captain of the side. KKR finished sixth in the league stage and won six out of their fourteen games.

2009: In the second season, Brendon McCullum took over the role of captain. Team performance did not improve after this change in captaincy as they finished at the bottom of the table, winning only three of their 14 matches.

2010: Ganguly again returned as the captain of the team and KKR finished in sixth place. They won 7 out of the 14 games they played.

2011: Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the captain of KKR in the fourth season. They finished fourth in the points table, winning eight of their 14 matches.

2012: In the fifth season of the IPL, KKR experienced a turnaround in fortunes. Gautam Gambhir was the captain, and the team conquered the tournament for the first time, defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final. The team won 10 of their 16 league matches.

2013: KKR were unable to replicate their previous season’s success and finished seventh in the league standings, winning only six of their 16 matches.

2014: In the seventh season of the IPL, KKR was crowned as the winner a second time. The team won nine of their 14 league matches. They beat Kings XI Punjab in the finals. Gambhir managed to remain the team’s captain.

2015: KKR finished fifth in the league standings in 2015, winning seven of their 14 games.

2016: KKR finished fourth in the league standings, winning eight of their 14 matches.

2017: KKR finished fourth in the league standings in 2017, winning eight of their 14 matches.

2018: Dinesh Karthik was named the new captain of KKR in 2018, and the team finished third in the league standings, winning 8 of their 14 matches.

2019: KKR finished fifth in the league standings in 2019 and won six of their 14 matches.

2020: Due to the pandemic, the IPL was held in the UAE. KKR finished fifth in the league standings after winning seven of the fourteen games they played. Midway through the season, Eoin Morgan replaced Karthik as captain.

2021: In 2021 again, Morgan led the KKR team. They finished fourth in the league standings and won seven of their 14 matches.

2022: Shreyas Iyer was named the captain of the side. The inclusion of two new teams i.e. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants posed a threat to KKR’s legacy and the men in purple managed to win only 6 out of the 14 games finishing seventh in the league stage.

Kolkata Knight RIders is one of the most successful team in the IPL history.

Kolkata Knight Riders Players List 2023

Players NamePlayers positionNationalityAge
Shreyas Iyer (C)BatsmanIndia28
Nitish RanaBatsmanIndia28
Rinku SinghBatsmanIndia25
Varun ChakravartyBowlersIndia31
Tim SoutheeBowlersNew Zealand34
Umesh YadavBowlersIndia35
Andre RussellAll-rounderWest Indies34
Venkatesh IyerAll-rounderIndia27
Sunil NarineAll-rounderWest Indies34
Anukul RoyAll-rounderIndia24
Shardul ThakurBowlerIndia31
Lockie FergusonBowlerNew Zealand31
Rahmanullah GurbazWK-BatsmanAfghanistan21
Harshit RanaBowlerIndia21
N JagadeesanBatterIndia26
Vaibhav AroraBowlerIndia25
Shakib Al HasanAll-rounderBangladesh35
David WieseAll-rounderNamibia37
Mandeep SinghBatterIndia31
Litton DasWicket-keeperBangladesh28
Kulwant KhejroliyaBowlerIndia30
Suyash SharmaBowlerIndia19

Administration and Support Staff

CEOVenky Mysore
Head CoachChandrakant Pandit
Bowling CoachBharat Arun
Batting CoachJames Foster
Fielding CoachRyan Ten Doeschate
PhysiotherapistKamlesh Jain
Strength and Conditioning CoachChris Donaldson
Team MasseurAtanu Ghosh
Team DoctorDr. Srikanth Naraynaswamy

KKR Fan Base

KKR is the third most popular team in the IPL after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. They have a huge fan base both in India and around the world. The initial reason for the team’s popularity was the celebrity owners which later transcended into the love for cricket. The team has won the tournament twice, in 2012 and in 2014.

KKR’s fan base includes fans not only from Kolkata but from different regions. When it comes to cricket, ages, and backgrounds have little to do with the craze of the game. KKR fans show remarkable presence in the stadiums to support their team and have made many slogans and fan anthems to shower their love on the players.

KKR has a strong social media presence with millions of followers on various platforms. They have 3.3M followers on Instagram, 4.9M followers on Twitter, and 16.1M followers on Facebook.

Lot of people around the India and other countries are fans of KKR.

KKR Sponsors

IPL 2023 sponsors list:

PartnershipBrand
Principal PartnersMobile Premier League (MPL), Unacademy
Associate PartnersLux Cozi, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Joy, Jio, ACKO, Wrogn, 1 Finance 
Official PartnersGlance, Mcdowells no.1, Munch, LG, Thumbs UP, BKT tires, Buystars, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mio Amore, boat, Open, Rollick, ib Cricket, Fever FM

KKR Team Performance

Year CaptainPositionTop BatsmanRunsTop Bowler     Wickets2022Win %
2022Shreyas Iyer7th out of 10Shreyas Iyer401Andre Russell1742.86
2021Eoin Morgan2nd out of 8Shubman Gill378Varun Chakravarthy1752.94
2020Dinesh Karthik/Eoin Morgan5th out of 8Shubman Gill440Varun Chakravarthy 1750.00
2019Dinesh Karthik5th out of 8Andre Russell510Andre Russell1142.86
2018Dinesh Karthik3rd out of 8Dinesh Karthik498Sunil Narine 1756.25
2017Gautam Gambhir3rd out of 8Robin Uthappa388Nathan Coulter-Nile 1556.25
2016Gautam Gambhir4th out of 8Gautam Gambhir498Andre Russell1553.33
2015Gautam Gambhir5th out of 8Andre Russell326Andre Russell1453.85
2014Gautam Gambhir1st out of 8Robin Uthappa660Sunil Narine2168.75
2013Gautam Gambhir7th out of 9Robin Uthappa434Sunil Narine 2237.50
2012Gautam Gambhir1st out of 9Gautam Gambhir590Sunil Narine2470.59
2011Gautam Gambhir4th out of 10Gautam Gambhir378Iqbal Abdulla1653.33
2010Sourav Ganguly6th out of 8Jacques Kallis572Shane Bond 950.00
2009Brendon McCullum8th out of 8Chris Gayle292Ishant Sharma1523.07
2008Sourav Ganguly6th out of 8Brendon McCullum616Umar Gul1246.15

Kolkata Knight Riders Best Players

Andre Russell

With both bat and ball, Russell has been a game-changer for KKR. In 74 matches, he has gathered 1517 runs at an average of 29.37, a strike rate of 182.33, and 61 wickets at an economy rate of 9.20. For Andre Russell, 2019 was a dream season where he scored 510 runs with the bat and also took 11 wickets.

Sunil Narine

Since 2012, Narine has been a crucial member of the KKR team and has contributed significantly to their success in the IPL. In 2012, he took as many as 24 wickets in a season. One of the league’s top spinners, he has 127 wickets in 120 games at an economy rate of 6.67.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik serves as a wicketkeeper and batsman for KKR since 2018. He also served as the team’s captain in 2018 and 2019 and has been a reliable batsman. He scored 498 runs in 2018, his first season as captain for KKR. Karthik has scored 1096 runs at an average of 30.44 with a strike rate of 135.13 in 43 games for KKR. With 31 catches and 5 stumpings, he has also been a reliable pair of hands behind the stumps.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav, a left-arm spinner of the KKR team is one of the best spin bowlers in the tournament. He has taken 56 wickets in 49 matches at a decent economy rate. He was a member of the title-winning team in 2014.

Meet the best players of the Kolkata Knight Riders team.

FAQs regarding Kolkata Knight Riders

Who is the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders?

Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta and Red Chillies Entertainment own the KKR team.

What is the number of times Kolkata Knight Riders have won the IPL?

KKR has won the tournament twice in 2012 and 2014.

Which players will KKR retain in 2023?

Shreyas Iyer
Nitish Rana
Rinku Singh
Varun Chakravarty
Tim Southee
Umesh Yadav
Andre Russell
Venkatesh Iyer
Sunil Narine

How many times was KKR qualified for playoffs?

KKR has qualified for the playoffs 7 times.

Who is the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders?

Shreyas Iyer will lead the KKR team in the 2023 IPL.

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