Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders, more commonly known as KKR, are one of the most well-supported franchises in the IPL. The KKR have gained massive popularity due to the team being owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. They are one of only three teams to be involved in the IPL with their original name since the inception of the tournament in 2008 and they will be looking for their third title in the 2023 edition. One of the most impressive records that they hold in the IPL is the longest winning streak of 12 matches, which was achieved across the 2014 and 2015 editions. The KKR play their home matches at one of the most iconic grounds in world cricket, Eden Gardens. The ground had a capacity of 90,000 but this was reduced to 68,000 after the 2011 World Cup. The KKR were involved in the first-ever match in the inaugural IPL tournament when they played the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Brendon McCullum hit unbeaten 158 runs off 73 balls to write his name in the record books. They set the tone for this great tournament to keep on flourishing. 

Latest KKR News

Standout KKR Players

Kolkata Knight Riders Captain – Shreyas Iyer

The Kolkata Knight Riders will be the first to admit that they had a poor 2022 IPL where they failed to make the playoffs after finishing in 7^th place. They will be ecstatic that they will be back playing their matches at Eden Gardens as this is a fortress for the team. The Kolkata Knight Riders Captain Shreyas Iyer has been again entrusted with the leadership role although he did not have a great first season as skipper. He however enjoyed plenty of success as captain of the Delhi Capitals as he led the team from 2018 up until 2021. During this time he took the Capitals to the maiden IPL final in 2020 but unfortunately they lost to the Mumbai Indians. Iyer showed he is the man for the big occasion by making 65 in the final, albeit in a losing cause.  

Best Bowler – Sunil Narine

The Kolkata Knight Riders have had some of the game’s foremost bowlers playing for them with the likes of Brett Lee, Ishant Sharma, Jacques Kallis, and Andre Russell, but the man that stands head and shoulders above everyone else is Sunil Narine. The West Indian mystery spinner has taken an incredible 152 scalps in his IPL career and is 8^th on the list of all-time highest wicket-takers in IPL history. He has not only been a prolific wicket-taker but has one of the best economy rates in the competition, going for just 6.55 runs per over. Narine’s best-ever bowling figures are a scarcely believable 5/19. 

Best Batsman –Robin Uthappa/Gautam Gambhir

The Kolkata Knight Rider’s players have always enjoyed cult-like status—such is the passion of their fans and the popularity of their Bollywood owners. Amongst all the glitz and glamour, there have been some of the great batsmen in world cricket who have made Eden Gardens their home during the IPL. Two former Indian internationals, Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, are at the top of the leaderboard for most runs, with Gambhir leading the way with 3035 runs from 108 matches. The players from the 3^rd to 5^th spot on the highest run scorers list for the franchise are all great all-rounders: Jacques Kallis, Andre Russell, and Yusuf Pathan. The highest individual score for the KKR remains the 158 by McCullum in the very first match in 2008. Strangely, no other batsman from the franchise had scored a century. Captain Shreyas Iyer will be keen to shoulder the batting responsibility and hopefully become the second-ever centurion for the franchise. 

Best player – Andre Russell

The KKR have many players capable of winning a match on their own with a great inning or an excellent bowling spell, but when a player can win it with either bat or ball, then he is indeed special. One such player is Andre Russell. He can bowl at close to 145km/h and can rip a batting line-up apart. Arguably his more dangerous with a bat in hand, as he has won matches for the Knight Riders from truly hopeless situations. His six-hitting ability is amongst the best in the game, typified by his strike rate of 179.12. Russel will surely be one of the most exciting players in this edition, provided he can stay injury-free.  

Kolkata Knight Riders Owner – Shah Rukh Khan / Red Chillies Entertainment.

The Kolkata Knight Riders owners are Shah Rukh Khan and his company Red Chillies Entertainment. The partnership agreement for the ownership also includes actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for a price of $75.09 million, equal to approximately ₹2.98 billion at that time. The Kolkata Knight Riders have also steadily built their brand outside of India and are part of the Knight Riders Group (KRG), a global brand in cricket with franchises in the Caribbean Premier League (Trinbago Knight Riders) and the International League T20 (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) of UAE.

Win-Loss Record and IPL Titles

Win-Loss (since 2008) – 113/106/8 

Total IPL Titles – 2

It is often said the continued success of the IPL has much to do with the 2008 inaugural match of this competition; the Kolkata Knight Riders played a major part in that when their player Brendan McCullum played one of the greatest ever T20 innings to ignite the IPL. The Kolkata-based franchise is the third most successful franchise in IPL history with two titles. They enjoyed success in the early years, winning the 2012 and 2014 editions, but have been on a barren run since then. Since their last triumph, their best season was in 2021 when they reached the final but were beaten by the Chennai Super Kings.

Highest Score – 245/6 vs KXIP (2018) 

The KKR have been blessed with outstanding players from the inaugural tournament in 2008 with Indian great Saurav Ganguly being their icon player in the first year. Their home matches were at Eden Gardens and the ground is famous for high scoring as the boundaries are short and the pitch is an absolute belter for the batsmen. Over the years there have been numerous scores in excess of 200 but the highest-ever score by the Knight Riders is 245/6, which was achieved against the Kings Xl. The only surprise was that this total wasn’t made in Kolkata but rather in Indore, which is another ground with small boundaries. The highest score made by the Knight Riders at Eden Gardens is 232/2 in 2019.